A Silver Summer
by The Real Fanboy
Summary: Finally, the summer vacation has started. But for Silver Spoon, this doesn't mean fun and play. She has to go to summer class. And if going to school during precious summer time wasn't bad enough, Apple Bloom is there, too. But what seemed to become a nightmare of a vacation slowly turns out to be a chance to finally change a lot of things in Silver Spoon's life.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Silver Spoon slowly walked through the park doing her best to ignore what was going on around her. She was sure that a certain blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane was on weather-duty today. She didn't know her name, but she knew that whenever that mare was responsible for the weather it would turn out to be the perfect day for one nice, prolonged nap. Enough clouds in the sky to prevent the sun from burning away your coat, yet still sufficiently sunny to keep the air pleasantly warm. And this exceptionally warm summer morning had elicited almost the whole town to crowd even the last inch of grass to be found.

Wherever the silver maned filly looked she saw mares and stallions lying in the grass. Couples nuzzling each other. Single ponies sleeping or reading. Young parents on a walk with their foals. Old ponies observing the scenery while playing chess or checkers.

But worst of all, she saw other fillies and colts. She saw them running around, playing happily. Silver Spoon tried her hardest to ignore them, but their joyful laughter kept ringing in her ears like a mocking choir of malice.

_It's like they know,_ she thought. Maybe they did know. Those from her class were most likely to.

She saw a few of them and stopped. For the first time in a long time she felt a wish growing deep inside of her to join them in their games. It's not like she actually wanted to be associated with them, but anything was better than what lay ahead of her.

But still, she had no choice but to move on. Her fate was inevitable. And to her dismay, also inevitable was now the shortest route possible to her very special summer camp. All she had had in mind was getting there as fast as possible and not waste precious summer vacation time. But now it seemed to the little filly that maybe taking a longer route around the park would have been less aggravating for her. All she could do there and then was lowering her head, shutting off her mind and keep moving forward.

Lost in her glooming thoughts about what was still to come that day, she set herself in motion again. Just to be stopped moments later by a sharp pain in her forehead.

"Ouch! Can't you watch where you're going?" Silver Spoon said and heard at the same time, rubbing her throbbing head.

She tried to make out who had run into her but her vision was all blurry. She blinked a few times before realizing she had lost her glasses. It took her a few seconds to find them. When she finally had put them back on, she saw yellow at first. Then she saw red. Yellow fur and a red mane. Of course.

_Just perfect._

That was what was needed to turn this day from bad to worse. Those three losers who… Wait, three? Silver Spoon looked around. No, only this one. It didn't matter. Even if it was only one of them, naturally it had to be the worst.

But something was strange. That brat wasn't as hyperactive as usual. On the contrary, she seemed just as downbeat as Silver Spoon.

"All on your own? What's the matter, gave up on getting a cutie mark?" She just had to take this chance to take out some of the frustration. "Or did the impossible happen and the other two dumbos actually got theirs and ditched you?"

That should do it. Getting Apple Bloom tangled up in helpless anger was always the best way to get at least some fun out of a day.

"And what about ya'? Where's yer pest of a friend?" came the reply.

Silver Spoon smiled. She had expected this question and had the answer ready: "If you mean my _lovely_ friend Diamond Tiara, she is on vacation with her parents. At their _summer house_." She tried to put as much force on the last two words as possible. "It's just like _ours_. With its own private beach."

_Yeah, that's it._

Silver Spoon's parents were way better than Apple Bloom's and this would show her. She already celebrated her triumph silently, but Apple Bloom didn't seem to notice that she should have been ashamed of her family by then.

"Then how come yer still here? Ya' Ma 'n Pa left without ya'?"

This drove a deep sting into the filly's heart. All the triumph that had filled her mind for a few fleeting seconds was washed away in an instant. Back were the thoughts of why she was still in Ponyville and where she was heading right now.

Defeated and angry she snapped: "None of your business."

This wasn't going as she had hoped for. That damn blank-flank should have been running off by now, aware of her inferiority. But somehow, she had turned the tables on Silver Spoon. Like always.

Why, just why did she always come out ahead of her, no matter what the grey coated little pony did? Once again it was the brat who smiled. That annoying smile which told the whole world she was better than anypony else.

It was too much for Silver Spoon. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She held her head up high and told Apple Bloom: "And by the way, I don't have any time for this stupid chit-chat. I have an important appointment I can't be late for."

With that, she trotted on, as calmly as possible. She kept her eyes closed to make sure absolutely nopony had the chance of seeing so much as a single tear. Her bumping into a few other ponies must have looked silly and clumsy, which made Silver Spoon even madder. But of all ponies in the world, Apple Bloom was the last who she could let see her crying. Fighting hard not to break into a run until she was sure the yellow filly was out of sight, she finally escaped.

But on the other hand, that meant she was that much closer to her destination. The place where her ordeal was to begin. The dreaded building she had to suffer in all year long except for a few valuable weeks. And even that was taken from her now. Despite the calendar saying the summer vacation had already started, she was at the Ponyville schoolhouse.

With a deep sigh and the definite knowledge nothing would prevent her from what was going to happen she entered the classroom, ready to face what was going to happen. And it was terrible. Degrading. Humiliating. Almost unbearable. And it hadn't even yet begun.

Seemingly all the other fillies who were destined to share her fate were already assembled. And worst of all, none of those who would have deserved it were here.

Except maybe for Snips and Snails, who didn't even seem to care much. Actually, they looked like they've been prepared for this for quite some time now.

Featherweight was present, too, much to Silver Spoon's surprise. She would have thought he didn't have to go through this. Not that she cared.

The fat one and the purple maned unicorn were here as well. She just couldn't remember their names. Not that she ever tried.

Silver Spoon sat down at her desk and let her head sink once again until it hit the all too familiar piece of furniture. She did it partly because she didn't want to see the others and partly because she was trying a very feeble attempt to hide her face. But before long, she heard the door swing open followed by the ever so unbearably sweet voice of Cheerilee.

"Hello and good morning my little ponies. I am glad you're all here on time, so we can begin right away. So don't let us waste any time and start your summer make up class in Geography."

Silver Spoon had to look back up again. These words meant she had to at least pretend to be interested in what was happening at the teacher's end of the room for now.

All around her, the other fillies greeted their teacher with joyful smiles.

_How are they able to do it?_ she wondered. Sitting around in this boring classroom, listening to the same boring stuff they got nagged with all year long and still be happy about it? _Maybe because they don't have anything better to do._

That must have been it. They didn't have any vacation homes or swimming pools in their gardens. Some of them didn't even have a house with a garden. Silver Spoon almost pitied them. How dull must a life be, that going to school during your summer vacation seems like fun to you?

_Well, that's what you get when you don't have the right parents._

The right parents… this thought sent another sting through her heart. She _did_ have the best parents possible, yet still she had to suffer in the middle of this lousy bunch of losers. The only thing left for her was to live through all this with as much dignity as possible.

With newfound resolution, she focused on Cheerilee, ignoring the other fillies in the room and tried to look as interested as possible. She nodded from time to time when somepony said something, even if she didn't understand what it meant or was about. She scribbled something down whenever Cheerilee told them stuff about other cities she had never heard or cared about. She even managed to raise her hoof once, when the class got asked to point out Ponyville on a map of Equestria. And she didn't get picked for that one, which was the best of it all, because she had actually no idea where anything was on any map. All in all it went really good. For about ten, maybe fifteen minutes.

The longer the class went on, the more confusing and irritating everything became. Silver Spoon didn't understand why she needed to know anything about some southern settlement named "Appa-Loser". The name itself sounded ridiculous. Why would you want to announce that you all are losers in your town's name? Maybe they were so considerate to tell ponies like her that she didn't even have to bother looking for it on a map. What she wouldn't have done anyway. Those things were just too confusing.

If she wanted to go somewhere she'd ask her parents to buy her a first class ticket for the train. And if it wasn't possible to go somewhere in a first class train cabin, that place wouldn't be worth going to anyway. Except for their summer house at the beach, of course.

Tired and weary from all this nonsensical stuff, she let her view trail off until it found the window. That magical gate to the outside world, where ponies were having fun, enjoying the best season of the year.

Silently the grey furred filly began cursing each and everypony who was about her age she saw crossing by. Their happiness was a mockery to her. Displayed blatantly just to make her feel even worse.

After a while – Silver Spoon had no idea anymore how long she had been trapped in school – she was pretty sure she must have already hexed every single filly and colt this town had to offer. Until two all too familiar faces entered her field of view. Both of the other blank-flanks, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Even they had a better time than Silver Spoon. Despite being still blank-flanks.

_Wait, they're still blank-flanks?_

That reminded her of something. Something not too long ago, not even an hour. Though it could have been days or weeks for her. She had almost drowned that memory of humiliation. But now it was as clear as day to her. Her own words echoed in her mind: _"Did the impossible happen and the other two dumbos actually got theirs and ditched you?"_

As it seemed, neither of them had gotten a cutie mark. This meant she had hit the nail back then. The three of them had a fight. That's why Apple Bloom had looked so depressed when they had run into each other. But then again, these two looked quite happy. They didn't seem to care about any fight between friends. Well, not that she cared.

Yet still, somehow, it irritated her. And that in itself began to irritate her as well. Wasn't this something to be happy about, if the blank-flank trio began to fight in-between themselves?

"It seems like Silver Spoon is looking really hard for Canterlot right now. But I suggest you use this map we have here. You do have better chances to find it there than outside the window."

The other fillies laughed at Cheerilee's words. And this meant to Silver Spoon, they were laughing at her as well. Flushing with anger and embarrassment she moved slowly across the room to the huge map concealing the blackboard.

Completely clueless she stared at this incomprehensible composition of wavy lines in different colors, large and small areas in different shades of green, blue and brown, little circles, squares and triangles and many words – definitely names – written all over it. Bored and annoyed, she began to search for the little word "Canterlot".

When she was back at her desk she didn't know how much time had passed. In her opinion the lesson had to be already over considering she had spent an agonizing eternity scanning that confusing formation of colors other ponies called a map. A look at the clock could have solved this riddle for her but it was placed right over the blackboard. And that was the last direction Silver Spoon wanted to look right now.

She slumped into her chair, praying her ordeal would end soon. When Cheerilee finally closed the lesson Silver Spoon would have sworn it had to be way past noon by now. But now that there was no danger lurking in the front of the room she could risk a look at the clock. It proved her wrong.

_Well, one down, two to go._

Somehow she had made it through Geography without getting into any more embarrassing situations. But she wasn't able to take any relief in that thought. The limit of boredom she could withstand was already reached. Yet she still had more ahead of her than behind her. And this was only the first day; three more weeks of this nonsense were still to come.

But this outlook wasn't the only reason her mood was already worse than she had ever thought it possible. There was a second, more prominent one. Some of her classmates were leaving. They were free. And she had to stay. For two more lessons.

At first, when Featherweight left the school house, a pair of hateful purple eyes followed him. When that fat little colt left, those eyes turned from hateful to desperate. And when the unicorn left too, they portrayed a mix of revelation and anguish.

The silver maned head those eyes belonged to turned to the other side of the room. Only Snips and Snails were left. Snips, Snails and _she._ Silver Spoon had thought her mood was at its lowest before, but when she realized she was now officially on one level with those two guys, it sank to somewhere underground.

They were so incredibly dimwitted. Whenever she had received a 'not so good' grade she could count on the fact that theirs were worse. The thought of being smarter than them had always been her mental refuge. In fact, the only reason she remembered their names at all was because they were so notably stupid. They did something extraordinary dumb at least once a week. If it was slow week. Surely, it was good entertainment each and every time it happened, but now that she was undeniably on the same level as them, it was heart crushing.

No matter how hard she prayed silently, nopony else came through the door to prove to her that having bad grades in Equestrian was _not _a definite sign of being as low as Snips and Snails. And, to top all that with some extra icing of uncomfortable, this meant the chances of her getting picked for something – anything – was way too high for Silver Spoon's taste.

So the inevitable happened and Equestrian class began. Again and again Cheerilee asked her to read something, come up to the blackboard and write something on the blackboard or to explain to 'the class' what some word meant.

And again and again Silver Spoon asked herself what all of this was good for. Granted, being able to read was nice and there were a few books she liked. But she was already able to read them and she didn't want to write books herself. Her dad always had someone writing his letters for him. If she ever felt like writing a book that's how she would do it. It was way easier than learning about grammar and proper spelling and whatnot. And was Cheerilee really expecting her to run around some day and explain big words to other ponies? Why would she ever do _that_?

Atop of all of that Cheerilee's expression changed little by little over the course of the lesson. At first, the filly didn't see it, but the look in her teacher's eyes became more noticeable with every answer she gave. That mare actually pitied her.

_Why should she feel sorry for me?_

Or was Silver Spoon mistaking it for disappointment that her victim didn't show as much despair as she wanted it to? But no, that couldn't be. In fact, she immediately dismissed this thought as ridiculous. Cheerilee didn't mind all the other happy faces in the room and she _was_ one of the nicest adults Silver Spoon knew. Even though the little filly had no idea why Cheerilee would let anyone suffer through all this, she was certain; her teacher didn't do it for her own amusement.

But then why did she look so disappointed, almost sad? Maybe she was forced to do all this by somepony else. And that's why she looked so sad, because she knew this little filly didn't deserve any of what was happening to her right now. That had to be it.

Of course, it didn't change anything about Silver Spoon's situation as a whole, but somehow, it comforted her to know that somepony was actually feeling for her. Didn't this mean Cheerilee was a potential ally for her?

_Maybe I should ask her to talk to dad about all this._

She knew teachers talked to parents from time to time, even though she had no idea what they would talk about. But that was no reason not to at least try this straw.

Already rejoicing in this realization, another one set in. One that dragged her mood right back down to where it had been before. Her father was miles and miles away, sunbathing, swimming or something like that. And he wouldn't be back before summer classes were over. Her brief moment of encouragement faded away within seconds. There would be no way out of this.

As endless as this lesson seemed, the best thing about it was that it only seemed to be endless. Thus Equestrian class did indeed end eventually and Cheerilee told them to take a short break to go outside and play for a few minutes. With that she left the class room, followed by Snips and Snails.

Silver Spoon had already risen from her chair, but then stopped and let herself fall back onto it again. She knew if she left the room now she wouldn't be able to go back inside again. So she remained at her desk, cursing the idea of a break. During regular school time it would have never seemed possible to her but right now, she hated it. All it meant at this moment was unnecessary extra time that had to be spent at school. Silver Spoon rather had it done with and go straight on to the next class. Especially since the next one was the most ridiculous: Mathematics.

It was like nopony at this school had ever heard of calculators. She used her dad's all the time. And he did too, of course. And this wasn't a matter of wealth, even she knew that. As a fact Silver Spoon had already seen other ponies – poor ponies – who owned a calculator.

For example, she knew the purple coated librarian had one. Back when Cheerilee had dragged the class there to teach them how to use a library – like she ever needed to do that, if she wanted a book, her parents would buy it – there was a blackboard standing around, just like the one at school. It had an overly long, complicated equation written all over it. Even on the backside. Silver Spoon had checked. And there was absolutely _no way_ anypony could have calculated all that in her head. So even the librarian could afford a calculator and she must be pretty poor. Why else would she live at her workplace? That's like if Cheerilee would live at the school house.

No, only poor ponies live at the same place they work at, like that librarian. Or farmers like Apple Bloom's family. Or Sweetie Belle's wannabe high-society sister. And even though she had no idea what Scootaloo's parents worked as, Silver Spoon was sure they were poor, too.

_Wait, why am I thinking of those losers now?_

Her situation was as dull as it could get already. No need to think of more depressing stuff than she already had at her hooves. That was the only good thing she could find about this whole situation. That those cutie mark dweebs weren't here. Even though they would have deserved it. But right now she was happy that she didn't have to deal with that trio on top of everything else. Even thinking about them was bothersome.

Fortunately her mind got snapped back to the present by the slight creaking of the door. The break had gone by faster than Silver Spoon had expected. She turned her head around, awaiting the last part of today's misery.

And then, in walked Apple Bloom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

For an endless second Apple Bloom just stood there in the doorway, the knob still in her hoof, her eyes widened in disbelieving surprise. And Silver Spoon was sure she looked the same herself.

A string of questions shot through her head. Why was Apple Bloom here? Was this why she had been so sad back when they met in the park? Why didn't she look as upset now? And why was she coming over to her?

"Do you have to sit there?" she asked, making a point of not looking at the new arrival. Really, of all the desks in the room, Apple Bloom had to pick the one next to her?

"It _is _ma' desk. Ah' _always _sit here." was the reply. Silver Spoon almost facehoofed. How could she forget that? But then again… "This is not regular class. You can sit anywhere you want."

"And Ah' want to sit at ma' own desk. What's yer problem with that?"

Silver Spoon was dumbfounded. Did she _really_ have to ask that?

"My problem is you sitting right next to _me_." And it wasn't just the mere presence of her. Having another filly at her side would mean that Cheerilee would look over here more often. And that meant Silver Spoon would have to act more focused than she wanted to.

"Then why don't ya' move away?" Apple Bloom wanted to know.

This was getting on her nerves. Silver Spoon made no effort to conceal her anger when she said: "Because I was here first. Isn't it obvious? You came last, so you sit somewhere else. Why is a know-it-all like you at makeup class anyway?"

For the first time this day, Apple Bloom didn't give an immediate reply, much to Silver Spoon's surprise. That had been an honest question for a change and not a try at getting to Apple Bloom. The silver maned filly thought about turning her head a little to get a glimpse of Apple Bloom's current expression. But still, she had to show her that she wasn't interested in her presence at all, so she kept her gaze fixed in the other direction. Nonetheless Apple Bloom decided to answer, her voice sounding clearly embarrassed: "Well, Ah' didn't do so great in mathematics this year. And so…"

"…you got sent here as punishment." Silver Spoon smiled to herself. "So that's why you almost cried when we, er, _met_ in the park."

"What? No! Ah' didn't get send here. Ah'm here because Ah' want to. Ma' sister even said a C is no big deal, but it was the only one on ma' record sheet and Ah' want to fix that."

Silver Spoon's mind went blank. She must have misheard something. Apple Bloom was here _on her own free will_? That was so exceedingly stupid. Even for her. And wait, did she say that was her only C? If she was here for a C and it was her only one that had to mean she got only A's and B's in all the other classes. That proved it, getting good grades had nothing to do with being smart.

_As if mine hadn't been the proof already._

"Say, is this yer 'important appointment' ya' spoke off?"

Apple Bloom's question pulled her back to reality with a vengeance. That was so typical for her. Making Silver Spoon's life miserable whenever possible. What should she say to that?

Now she was glad she had kept looking away from that redhead. Otherwise she would have been able to see the surprise written all over Silver Spoon's face. She had absolutely no idea what to say to that. Trying to force her mouth to come up with words, she opened and closed it a few times but not even as much as a simple sound would escape her throat.

Then she heard Apple Bloom adding: "Ah'd never thought ya'd take school this seriously."

That was so silly. Who could ever take school seriously? The few things that were actually useful could have been taught to Silver Spoon by some private teacher in much lesser time. She had never understood why she had to do all the other stuff she would never need ever again.

But all this aside, there was something that really confused her. Apple Bloom's remark had sounded so… cheerful. Or was it hopeful? She was pondering for a moment if Apple Bloom was enjoying Silver Spoon's misery. But there had been no trace of maliciousness in those words. Was she actually happy that Silver Spoon was here? Not like happy about what happened to her but that she _decided_ to come here? Was that it? Did Apple Bloom really think she had come to summer class because she wanted to?

All these questions seemed to overload Silver Spoon's head. Just a moment ago, she didn't know what to say at all, now she was struggling to decide what to say first. Helplessly, her mouth opened and closed a few times while she heard Apple Bloom sitting down at her desk and rummaging in her school bag. After a long moment of futile attempts Silver Spoon took a deep breath to calm her mind. It went almost blank for a second. Before she knew it she was looking at the back of Apple Bloom's head and heard herself saying: "Why are you so happy about it?"

The filly spoken to turned around. For the first time since she had entered the room, the two had real eye contact. And Silver Spoon could see as much surprise in Apple Bloom's eyes as she was certain to be shown in hers.

What surprised Silver Spoon wasn't exactly what it was that she had said rather than how she had said it. It was no cutting remark. There was no spirit of confrontation. It was the honesty, the sincerity in her voice that had really startled her. She _wanted_ to know the answer.

Overcoming her state of mind she refocused on those amber eyes in front of her. Apple Bloom still seemed to be in a state of minor shock. There was more than surprise in her look. Silver Spoon had the feeling she could also see some kind of realization.

There was no telling how long they sat there, just staring at each other in silence, both waiting for the other to finally say something. It felt like hours. Silver Spoon had never felt so uncomfortable. _Please, just answer my question,_ she begged silently. And the strangest thing above all this, somehow she knew Apple Bloom wanted to give an answer but just couldn't.

Her dilemma was ended when the door opened once again. They were able to break eye contact at long last. Both looked around and saw Cheerilee walking up to the blackboard. When the teacher saw who had joined her class while she had been outside, she said: "Ah, hello Apple Bloom. You are here already, very good. Since we are complete, let's start mathematics class."

For once Silver Spoon didn't pay attention to Cheerilee because she was bored, but because she was distracted. Every so often, she would try to get a glimpse of Apple Bloom out of the corner of her eye. Somewhere between them her last question kept lingering around, awaiting an answer of which Silver Spoon wasn't even sure if it existed. This would last for a few seconds, then she would turn her head to face her desk again and begin asking herself why that answer was so important to her at all. She certainly didn't want Apple Bloom's approval for anything she did, does or was going to do. She had never tried to impress her. Not like that. Why would she need to do that in the first place? She was better than that little farm filly, everypony could see that. And if she wanted to do so, going to school would be the very last of all things she would impress her with. Or anypony for that matter. And she most certainly didn't want Apple Bloom to like her. That thought was so absurd she didn't even need any reason for rejecting it. Maybe she didn't really want to know why Apple Bloom was so happy for her to be here. Maybe Silver Spoon wanted to know why Apple Bloom herself liked to be here. But then again, what good would that bring for her? Knowing the reason for somepony's stupidity didn't help her in any way whatsoever.

Over time these question grew too tiresome and started to wear her head out. But when she tried to distract herself by looking out of the window again, there was nothing there to keep her attention away from the thoughts currently occupying her mind. Even all those pesky little fillies playing around just to show her how miserable her day was were no point of focus for her any more. So her eyes would turn over to the blackboard for a change. Unfortunately the things there were even more confusing and made less sense than that damn question which just wouldn't stop bothering her. It took only moments and her head would start to hurt from all the incomprehensible information hammering at it. And above all this she couldn't shake the feeling that Apple Bloom kept looking at her. Then she would try to catch a glimpse at the yellow filly, only to see those orange eyes were fixated at Cheerilee as if the foal at Silver Spoon's side was determined to not look at Silver Spoon at any cost. But this would be enough to bring back the question still hanging there to nag her mind and the cycle would start anew.

When Cheerilee finally told her students the class was over Silver Spoon sighed deeply in relief. She was free. Sure, she had to come back here in two days but for now she was free to go. To ultimately escape this place of torment. Hastily she stuffed her books into her saddlebag and the pens and writing pad back into her desk. Ready to storm out and escape this nightmare for now, she heard a voice from behind her that took her by surprise.

"Because it somehow makes me think that ya' can't be all that bad if yer willing to improve ya'self. If yer willin' to work on yer knowledge, maybe yer willin' to work on yer attitude."

The words hit her like a hammer in the back of her head. She was so astonished by Apple Bloom's words, she completely forgot to get angry about the farm filly keeping her from leaving. She simply turned around and said: "What?"

"That's the answer." Apple Bloom smiled.

"Answer? To wha… Wait, you mean _the_ answer? To what I asked you?" Silver Spoon's head was spinning. It was as if Apple Bloom's word had only now reached her conscious mind. Like her head had taken in the sounds but refused to process what had been said because it was too absurd. Now it had no other choice than to give in and accept it as reality.

"Work on my attitude? Why... How…What makes you think-" Silver Spoon stammered on until Apple Bloom interrupted her.

"To be honest, it took me a while to figure out why Ah' was so happy maself. But that's it."

_Improve my attitude? I'm not the one here who needs to do that,_ Silver Spoon wanted to say. But Apple Bloom's happiness still perplexed her. So what came out of her mouth instead was: "Why would you want me to 'improve my attitude'?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "Well, it's no secret we don't get along with each other."

_That's not my fault._

"Yer always pickin' on me, yer always makin' fun of me and yer always walk around as if yer better than anypony else."

_I am better than anypony else._

"But truth is, Ah' don't like not gettin' along. We don't have to be friends but not gettin' into fights whenever we see each other would be nice."

_As if that's my fault._

Silver Spoon couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, her curiosity had moved aside and made way for agitation. With a grim face she asked: "And what about you? Are you willing to improve _your_ attitude?"

Now it was Apple Bloom's turn to look like somepony had slapped her out of nowhere. "Ma' attitude? What's wrong with that?"

"You're an annoying teacher's pet who can't get through a single lesson without showing off how much of a know-it-all you are every five minutes. You and your stupid blank-flank friends cause nothing but trouble bugging everypony around you with whatever comes to your mind. Even worse, you always come out of those messes ahead of anypony else, even getting praised for it. None of you seem to notice that you're just an annoyance to everypony around you. And the three of you seem to celebrate being blank-flanks. Why would you do that? That just shows how stupid you are. Not to speak of that you are the reason why my best friend lost her place as the head of the school newspapers. Speaking of her, you keep spreading lies about her family."

All that flew out of Silver Spoons mouth as if it had waited somewhere inside her throat to break free at the first opportunity possible. She didn't shout, she didn't scowl, she didn't change her expression or tone at all. The whole delivery was done matter-of-factly.

A second later she added, almost like an afterthought: "And you keep bragging about what a great sister you have."

Apple Bloom was finally speechless. St_range,_ Silver Spoon thought, _if I knew that was all it took to shut her up, I'd told her sooner._ With growing amusement she watched Apple Bloom fighting for words.

All of a sudden, Cheerilee's voice reminded her that they still were in school. "Come on you two, I want to lock the door and get home. And I'm pretty sure you'd like to run along and play outside after all this hard work."

Apple Bloom trotted to the door looking at the floor. _I must have really impressed her this time._ That idea heightened Silver Spoon's spirit. She kept staring at Apple Bloom, determined to take every little bit of this precious moment in. But the longer she looked she noticed something. Apple Bloom wasn't impressed. In fact, she looked rather depressed.

When they had left the school house and were out of their teacher's range, Silver Spoon inquired tauntingly: "What's the matter? Does the truth hurt so bad?"

Apple Bloom gave no answer. Silver Spoon was certain she saw tears forming in her eyes. The next second, Apple Bloom ran off. Silver Spoon stared after her for a moment.

_I guess it does._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Silver Spoon had experienced unexpected emotions before. Life was full of pleasant surprises, as well as unpleasant ones. But this was a new sensation for her. She had never not felt an expected emotion.

This should have been her moment of triumph. Apple Bloom was finally beaten. Usually she would have stated some boastful claim or somepony would have jumped in for her aide. She even might have given a witty answer out of nowhere, overrunning Silver Spoons words. But not this time. There was nothing left for her to do except crying in her newfound awareness that Silver Spoon was superior to her.

Yet still the little grey filly had no sensation of relief, glory or gratification. She just felt nothing. She tried to laugh, forcing herself to be happy. But not even a smile would form on her face.

For a while she stood there alone, a few feet in front of the school house still staring into the direction where Apple Bloom had run off to. She took no notice of all the other ponies passing by. Then a realization popped into her mind.

_Doesn't the Apple Farm lie the opposite way?_

She shook her head. That thought was more than strange. Wherever Apple Bloom was running to now was not of her concern. As long as she was not around her, Silver Spoon was satisfied with Apple Bloom's whereabouts. And anyway, why should she waste her time thinking about some blank-flank now that she was free for today to do whatever pleased her?

She walked back the way she came to school this morning. The park was even more crowded, as impossible as this had seemed a few hours ago. It was almost like not only all of Ponyville's residents had decided to spend the day there but that they had brought visitors from other towns as well.

Silver Spoon sighed once again. She could go and play now that the lessons for today were over. But something else dawned on her. This was the first of many days she would have to spend without Diamond Tiara. It already felt like the longest time ever since they had started school. Since then, they had almost spent every spare minute together. Even when one of them was sick the other would come over to stay at her friend's side for some time. And being the head of the school newspaper hadn't stopped her best friend from seeing Silver Spoon each day.

Of course there had been times when they hadn't been able to be together. They never saw each other when they were on vacation with their parents or visited some relatives over the weekend. But their families had been on vacation at the same time the last two years. And those weekends were only two days they were separated. But now three whole weeks of utter loneliness and boredom lay ahead of her. The same three weeks of summer classes.

Right now she would have given anything to have her friend with her to play, talk and just forget what happened this day so far. She wished she would see or hear her somewhere in another group of fillies that were playing around the park. At the same time she knew that was pointless. Even if Diamond Tiara wouldn't be away with her parents there was no way those other fillies would have let her play with them. They never let them, neither Diamond Tiara nor Silver Spoon, join their games. Not like she wanted to. Cheerilee had tried to force their school mates to integrate them from time to time but that had never led to anything. Certainly they wouldn't let Silver Spoon join them right now, she knew that. Thus the filly walked on, not even trying to talk to anypony else. There was just no point to it.

"Hey, you!" she heard somepony shout behind her. At first Silver Spoon didn't realize that somepony meant her. The voice sounded familiar though. Then she heard: "Silver Spoon, I'm talking to you!"

She held in and turned around. In front of her stood a scowling orange pegasus filly with a purple mane, accompanied by a white unicorn filly with a curly mane, also patterned in shades of violet. The latter looked rather worried than angry.

"What did you do to Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo yelled at Silver Spoon.

"I didn't do anything," she answered calmly. "We just talked."

"Talked? Since when do you just _talk_?" the pegasus filly demanded to know. Scootaloo took a step closer at Silver Spoon, staring deep into her eyes. She involuntarily took a step back.

Sweetie Belle laid a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder and said: "Then what did you say to her?"

"Why should I tell you? Go ask her yourself," sneered Silver Spoon. "Why aren't you following your oh so good friend anyway? Sounds to me like she needs you."

"Well, I wanted to, but Scoot-" Sweetie Belle started but Scootaloo interrupted her.

"We were too far away, she was gone before we could have reached her. But we saw you and knew you had something to do with it."

The grey filly couldn't help but sigh once more. "Okay, it's really simple. She asked me something she obviously didn't want to hear the answer to. Not my fault she runs off crying like a foal about it. Doesn't matter, doesn't care. Now leave me alone, I have better things to do than anything that would involve the two of you."

Scootaloo's look darkened even more, but Sweetie Belle pulled her away. "Let's go Scootaloo. We need to find Apple Bloom."

That was the last Silver Spoon heard of them when she turned around again. Meeting the blank flanks was always a pain. At least without Diamond Tiara by her side. This time it was even harder for her, knowing that the last sentence she had said was a lie. There wasn't anything better for her to do. She just walked around aimlessly.

_Maybe I should just go home._

Home. That word awoke a thought somewhere deep inside her mind. Or rather, it reemerged from her short term memory. Apple Bloom hadn't been running home after their little conversation. Silver Spoon would have expected her to dash up right up to her perfect sister, tell her what happened and somehow end up getting a reward for it. Maybe she had been so shocked back then she just ran and didn't think of where she was going. But then again, why should Apple Bloom be shocked at all? It's not like what had been said was a secret or anything like that. She just told her the truth. And Apple Bloom had asked her to say it. If it was hurtful to her, it was in no way Silver Spoon's fault. Anyways, her friends would take care of that now. As soon as they found her, they would hear what happened and they would comfort her.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Why was she having all those strange thoughts today? Was being in school during the summer vacation already affecting her head?

_I don't care where Apple Bloom is, why she cried and if somepony takes care of her now,_ she told herself repeatedly.

She wished for Diamond Tiara to be there with her now more than ever. Her friend always finds an explanation for such things. Being together with her, having her advice made life so much easier. But there was no helping it, she had to fight her way through these weeks on her own. And she wouldn't let herself succumb to her fate within the first day.

When she had come to this conclusion, she finally took notice of her surroundings again. Silver Spoon had no idea how, but she had made it through the crowded park without crashing into anypony, already left it and was now standing right in front of her favorite shop in all of Ponyville. Her subconscious must have guided her to some place where she would find a bit of happiness on this day at last. With a tinging of the doorbell, she entered the store.

Its sweet scent filled Silver Spoon's nostrills in an instant. The candy presented here in wooden shelves and glass bowls didn't just give each and every corner its own unique odor, it also gave the whole place a very colorful appearance. The wooden floor creaked quietly as she stepped past chocolates, lolly pops, peppermints, marshmallows, licorice and – of course – bonbons. More than half of the candies offered here were bonbons in different shapes, colors and – most important – tastes. Silver Spoon's eyes wandered along the seemingly endless heaps of bonbons. It looked like the stock had been refilled not long ago.

_Perfect._

That had to mean her favorites were available, too. The Braeburns or rather Braeburn's Apple Flavored Bonbons by its full name were made of apples from somewhere far away. The shopkeeper had told Silver Spoon once where they came from, but she had forgotten the name of that town. If it wasn't in the apple's name she would have forgotten who harvested them as well. She didn't really care from where or whom the ingredients were delivered. Essential to her was that they arrived at all and she would get her bag of delicious bonbons. The problem was, almost all other fillies in this town liked those rare candies just as much as she did.

She checked every bowl twice to make sure she hadn't overlooked them. But with each one she inspected her heart sank a bit lower. She found bonbons made of every berry she knew and even some she didn't know. Bonbons made of oranges, lemons and mandarins. Some made of herbs or things she didn't know or couldn't even pronounce. And of course bonbons made of apples. Lots of different apples. But there were no Braeburn's. Naturally.

_On a day like this nothing good happens to you._

She was almost about to scream in frustration when she heard the shopkeeper's voice.

"Are you looking for these?"

Silver Spoon looked over to the counter. The shopkeeper was a light cream furred mare whose mane was mostly marine blue but had a broad strand of pink in it. Her light blue eyes completed the smile she gave Silver Spoon. And in her right front hoof she held a brown paper bag. Silver Spoon's heart jumped back up past its usual place. "You really saved some Braeburn's for me?" she exclaimed as she dashed over to the counter.

The mare chuckled: "Of course I did. I know how much you love them and you're one of my best customers."

"Oh thank you so much Miss… Miss…"

"Bon Bon. Didn't I tell you before? It's not that hard to keep," Bon Bon laughed, pointing at her cutie mark that excellently matched her name. "And drop the 'Miss'. I don't like it."

Silver Spoon nodded: "Bon Bon, right. So, thank you very much Bon Bon. You really saved my day here."

"Saved your day? It's only short past noon, how can your day be so bad already that it needs saving?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know." Silver Spoon sighed and added in thought:_ And I don't want to talk about it,_.

Unfortunately for her, Bon Bon wasn't able to read minds, so she replied: "Honey, if I didn't want to know I wouldn't have asked. Maybe there is some way I can help you. And even if not, sharing your troubles makes it always easier to bear them. So come on, what's the problem?"

Silver Spoon sighed once more. She wasn't sure if she had ever sighed that much within one day in her live before. Maybe Bon Bon was right. What did she have to lose? And that mare had always been nice to her. Silver Spoon took a deep breath and said: "First of all, I have to take summer lessons during the summer vacation and today was the first day. It's so boring. I have to sit in school while all the other fillies can play. And it means my parents went to our summer house without me this year."

"Wait a second, your parents left you alone at home just so they could go on a vacation?" Bon Bon looked shocked, much to Silver Spoons confusion.

She replied: "I'm not home alone. The butlers and maids are there to take care of me. And I'm not angry that I'm not with my parents but that I'm not at our beach house. Instead I have to go to school." She emphasized the last sentence.

"I see…" Bon Bon said but she looked like she didn't.

Nonetheless Silver Spoon continued: "And not only that. In the last lesson, that annoying Apple Bloom was there, too. And as soon as she arrived she started bothering me. She really thought I was there because I wanted to."

She paused for a moment to give Bon Bon a few seconds to laugh at such a nonsensical thing. But the mare only gave her a quizzical look. "What's wrong with thinking that?"

"What's wrong?" the filly exclaimed. "It's just ridiculous. Why would I want to go there? I'm only doing this because my parents make me."

Bon Bon gave her an intense look, like she was about to give Silver Spoon a lecture about something. But then she smiled instead and said: "Tell me, who is this Apple Bloom you mentioned? Somehow I feel like I know that name."

"A classmate of mine. Some farmpony from the Apple Farm."

"Apple Farm? As in the Apple family's Apple Farm? You don't mean that red maned filly that talks a lot? Applejack's little sister?"

"Yes, that's her. She makes sure to let everypony know that she is Applejack's sister at least once a day. How do you know her?"

"I met her once when she helped her sister selling apples. Or at least, tried to. Yes, she's a strange filly, but if Applejack has any influence on her at all, she can't be all that bad."

Silver Spoon shook her head. "You don't know her like I do. Today, when school was finally over, she had to bother me with some stupid talk about how I would have to change myself so we could be friends. As if I wanted that. Then she asked me what my problems with her were, so I told her. And she ran off crying."

Bon Bon's eyes widened. Her voice sounded horrified. "She was crying? What in all of Equestria did you say to her?"

"Just the truth. That she's a teacher's pet, annoying, a liar and she always manages to get praised for getting in trouble or doing stupid things," Silver Spoon listed in an instant. "Oh, and that she and her friend's act really stupid all the time."

Bon Bon's eyes grew even wider. Her voice was almost trembling when she said: "But honey, those are horrible things to say. No wonder you made her cry. I would have never expected such a nice little filly like you to be so mean."

Silver Spoon shrugged. "If she didn't want to hear it, she shouldn't have asked. And as I thought I'd escaped the bad things for today, her friends show up and act like I was at fault about Apple Bloom."

"Honey, have you ever considered that you were?" The question was accompanied by a strange smile, something Silver Spoon couldn't exactly interpret. In some way, it was sad, yet hopeful and understanding. She wanted to give a reply but Bon Bon cut her off: "Yes, I know you only told her what you honestly think about her. And I don't want to say that being honest is bad thing. But being honest doesn't mean to be blunt and insensitive."

"But she deserved to-" the filly started, but got interrupted again.

"Nopony deserves to be treated that way. Look honey, it's not always about what you want to tell somepony, but how you tell it. See, you can tell somepony that she is a stuck-up, egocentrically little brat or you could tell her that she needs to learn how to take other ponies' perspectives and to respect that they see things differently."

Silver Spoon thought about Bon Bon's words carefully. She wasn't convinced that this could actually work. "Do you really think Apple Bloom would change if I told her that?"

Bon Bon blinked a few times. Her expression looked rather perplexed to Silver Spoon, but the little filly had no idea why.

"Well, honey, it was just an example," she said. "Maybe you shouldn't tell her exactly my words. But you should learn how to give advice on improving instead of just blurting out insults. Maybe then you'll even have a chance to find out she isn't as bad as you think and the two of you become real good friends."

Sometimes, just like at that moment, Silver Spoon asked herself if becoming so deluded and ignorant was part of growing up. All adults she knew, even the real nice ones like Bon Bon or Cheerilee never seemed to understand that there was just no way she could ever be friends with some poor pony.

"I don't think so. Except for Diamond Tiara, none of my classmates like me. Apple Bloom is just the worst of them. I don't think I'll ever have any other friends."

As she spoke Silver Spoon felt her heart starting to burn. Why? She couldn't figure that out. This had been an accepted truth to her for a long time now. But for reasons that eluded her, speaking about it was rather painful.

"Don't say that, honey," Bon Bon said with a wide and heartwarming smile. "I told you before, you're a very nice little filly. And if that Apple Bloom really is the worst, your classmates can't be that bad."

Silver Spoon just gave her a confused look as an answer.

"Didn't you say Apple Bloom came to you and wanted to be your friend? Maybe you just misunderstood what she meant about you having to change. Just talk to her and find out what she really meant. And remember, honey, don't just bluntly speak what's on your mind. Think about if it could be hurtful to her and find a way to say it nicely."

Silver Spoon remained silent. As convinced as she had been that she didn't need any other friends, Bon Bon had hit something with her words. It felt like her soul was tugging on her conscious mind, trying to get attention. As if it wanted to remind her of something. When she tried to figure out of what, an indescribable ache started to spread through her. In some way it felt similar to a stomach ache but it wasn't really a kind of physical pain. Trying to shake off that feeling she shook her head and concentrated on the mare in front of her again.

"Hm, okay, I'll think about it. But for now, I just want some of these caramels from the middle board."

Silver Spoon pointed at the shelf behind Bon Bon. The salespony turned around and filled the desired candy into another paper bag while saying: "Don't just think about it, honey. Do it." And with a warm smile she handed the bag over to a waiting hoof.

Silver Spoon nodded, handed Bon Bon the bits and turned to leave. But then another thought popped into her head and went straight on to her mouth: "Why do you keep calling me honey?"

With that question, she looked back at Bon Bon who chuckled in response. "Because I think you're just as sweet. Why, what are your parents calling you?"

Once again, Bon Bon had her confused.

"Silver Spoon, of course. It's my name."

And with that, she finally left the candy store.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Silver Spoon had done everything she knew to have a good time for the last one and a half days. She swam in the pool, played crocket and tennis, spent some time at the spa and even ordered the house staff around to bring her the most exotic meals she could think of. But somehow nothing had helped her to put her mind off the next summer lesson today. Time had just dragged on and on. The funny thing about all that was, it never felt like time had been going by, until she had to go to bed all of a sudden, still feeling like she hadn't done anything at all the whole day.

Now that she was back at her desk for a second day of summer school she couldn't shake the feeling she had wasted something precious. Even though she had done about everything that was supposed to be fun.

And once again she was as disgusted as she was fascinated by the other foals in her class. They seemed to have the time of their lives. They were chattering and laughing, as if this was all some nice dinner party. Even though most likely none of them would ever get invited to one.

Like two days ago she had to listen to Cheerilee's endless lectures about other cities, rivers and mountains. Worse than that, Cheerilee called her again and again up to the map to find some city or picked her for questions Silver Spoon didn't even want to know the answer to.

What was up with her teacher? Why was she treating her this way? The day before yesterday she seemed so understanding of Silver Spoon's situation. And now it seemed she was determined to make the filly's life even worse than it already was. What was supposed to happen during Equestrian class, when there would be only three students left? Would Silver Spoon have to answer every question that would come up?

When the lesson was over and half of her classmates had left the room, her worries didn't exactly come true. Yet Cheerilee still picked her more often than the other two. On one hand that helped her not to think of all the others not being at school right now, and time went by a lot faster like this. But on the other hand the constant feeling of humiliation when she received another pitying look from her teacher after an answer she gave – if she gave one at all – was even worse than being bored and angry.

But just like the last time Equestrian went by eventually. And that meant, on top of everything else, Apple Bloom was about to join the class for the last lesson.

At least Silver Spoon was prepared this time, despite not being exactly sure for what. Would Apple Bloom try to get back at her for what happened the last time they saw each other? Would she just ignore here for the same reason? Would she still be so down about what Silver Spoon had said? Somehow, the last thought gave her that strange feeling again, like a sting deep inside her belly. And once again she tried to figure out what that was. But the door opening and the expected filly entering the class room distracted her.

Like the last time Snips, Snails and Cheerilee were somewhere outside. What meant, like the last time, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon were the only ponies in the room.

The red maned filly looked around as if to make sure of that. Then she focused on Silver Spoon. For a moment, it looked like she wasn't sure of what to do, but then she started to walk over to Silver Spoon. Or was she just going to her desk? No, she definitely came over to her. Silver Spoon realized that at the same time she noticed how determined Apple Bloom's expression was.

Silver Spoon prepared for a storm of accusations and furious insults. She tried to think of possible counter-statements and prepared for being yelled at. Finally, Apple Bloom was at her desk, starring sternly into the eyes of Silver Spoon, who inched back on her chair. Then Apple Bloom opened her mouth and said:

"…"

Nothing. Not a single sound crossed her lips. She just stood there, opened her mouth and closed it again, as if anything she wanted to say refused to leave her mind. Still, she had her eyes focused on Silver Spoon and her expression was as serious as before. Each time Apple Bloom tried again to say something – anything – Silver Spoon became more anxious. Finally she asked: "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Apple Bloom's look turned to surprise as if she hadn't expected to be spoken to. Once more she opened her mouth but then finally gave up. Her head dropped and she took a deep breath. Then she mumbled: "Fluttershy was right."

"Who?"

Apple Bloom looked back up again. "Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus who lives with all these animals at the edge of the Everfree Forest. I told her what happened."

Silver Spoon had still no idea who that filly was talking about, but she could feel how reluctant Apple Bloom was to say this and all that followed.

"She said it was not nice for ya' to say somethin' like that but ya' must have yer reasons to think so and if Ah' want to solve this without gettin' into a fight Ah' should find out why ya' think that way about me. So please tell me, what makes ya' think Ah'm... Ah'm… Ah'm all those things ya' said 'bout me."

Despite not knowing the mentioned pegasus she already started to like her. Her advice was way more helpful than Bon Bon's. But why would she talk to her and not to that sister who knew everything about anything? No, that was of no matter now. Apple Bloom was right here, not just admitting that she had nothing in her hoof against Silver Spoon but also asking her to explain why she was so incredibly annoying.

But the very moment she was about to give Apple Bloom the demanded explanation, they were interrupted by the door. Cheerilee entered and told Snips, Snails and the two of them to take their seats, never realizing what chance she had spoiled for one of her students. Silver Spoon mumbled some unrefined words in resignation. She would have to wait for later, if she wanted to or not. And she definitely did not.

The following math lesson was a strange sensation for Silver Spoon. On one hand she really wanted to tell Apple Bloom straight to her face why she didn't like her. On the other hand, something deep inside her dreaded the end of the lesson. It kept poking into the back of her mind, whispering in Bon Bon's voice. It admonished her not to go into a tirade of insults. She tried to ignore this voice, tell it that everything she wanted to say were facts, not insults. But that voice wouldn't go away. Atop of that, being called to the blackboard by Cheerilee for every other equation to solve didn't help Silver Spoon to clear her mind at all.

When the moment finally came for summer school to end for the day and they stood outside, Cheerilee and their schoolmates gone home, Silver Spoon had lost about everything she wanted to throw at Apple Bloom. Silently she cursed summer classes once again. Back then she knew exactly what had to be told to Apple Bloom. But now her own mind had made her doubt she should do so.

Mercilessly Apple Bloom asked what Silver Spoon didn't want to answer anymore: "Okay, now that the others are gone, please tell me why ya' said all those mean things to me. And don't tell me 'because it's the truth.' Ya' might think so, but that doesn't explain why ya' do."

Silver Spoon took a deep breath and said: "Okay, I'll try. Since we're still at the school, let's start with that. I just can't take how you're always showing off in class. You can't keep your hoof down for two minutes. And on top of that, you use every chance you get to suck up to Cheerilee."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Suck up to Cheerilee? When did Ah' do that?"

"Like at Hearts and Hooves Day. That oversized card, if you could call it that, you and your friends gave her. What was up with that?"

"That was not _sucking up_. We really like her that much. And we wanted to show her."

"Guess what, everypony in our class likes Cheerilee. But none of us goes crazy about it like you did then. And don't think I didn't hear your talk about her being so perfect and amazing. Don't tell me you didn't tell her all that because you wanted to be in favor with her."

"Of course Ah' didn't. Ah' told her because Ah' _like_ her."

"And then why are you so keen to answer every single question she asks during class?"

Apple Bloom's face went blank. She looked like she tried to process what she had been asked but couldn't quite understand how somepony could ask it in the first place.

"Well?" Silver Spoon pressed.

"Do ya' wanna say ya' don't like me because Ah'm good at school?" Apple Bloom's confusion reflected in every word.

"No. It's not just because you're _good_ at school. It's because you can't live without being the _best_ at school and showing it off to everypony else. Among other things."

The accused filly let out a deep sigh. "Okay, let's put this aside and get to those other things. Because there's one thing that really hurt me. Why did ya' call me a liar?"

Silver Spoon lifted an eyebrow. She would have thought the answer was quite clear. "Because you're telling lies. Why else would I call you a liar?"

"No, Ah'm not. Ah' never lie." Apple Bloom tried to state this as calm as possible but was barely able to conceal the building anger in her voice. For a brief moment the thought of provoking her more just to push that filly over the edge crossed Silver Spoon's head. But again, Bon Bon's voice warned her not to.

"Yes, you do. You lied about your cutie mark at Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera. And again when you got your fake cutie marks."

She was sure that she could see a faint hint of red on Apple Bloom's cheek. Obviously she had hit a mark. When Apple answered the anger underlined in her voice was mixed with embarrassment, yet still she remained calm. "Okay, Ah' did lie about ma' cutie mark. But only because ya' and Diamond Tiara wouldn't leave me alone. And speaking of yer friend, what was that about me tellin' lies about her?"

"Oh, don't deny that. She told me you did. Like those stories you spread that your family made hers rich." Silver Spoon's voice was stern. She already expected Apple Bloom to humbly admit her fault.

But the filly only gave her another blank stare. After a moment of silence she said: "Come again?"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. Now it was her turn to build up some anger. "Don't act like you don't know."

"But Ah' really don't know. When did Ah' ever say anythin' like that?" the yellow filly replied in desperate confusion.

"That story about her family only being rich because you let them sell your jam?" Silver Spoon stated.

Apple Bloom blinked a few times at those last words. Then her eyes widened in realization. "Yer not talkin' about the zap apple jam, are ya'?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "I am."

Apple Bloom closed her eyes and started rubbing her forehead with her hoof. "Listen, first of all, Ah' never said to anypony that _we_ made her family rich. Only that they started getting' rich by sellin' our jam. That's all. And second of all, ya' know it's the truth. Granny Smith told our whole class about it. _Ya' were there._ Ya' even liked that story."

Silver Spoon hesitated. It was true, she had liked that story back then. But… "Yes, maybe your granny caught me with some good storytelling. But Diamond Tiara told me that all of this was utter nonsense. There is no way her family would need some farm ponies for help."

Not a second later, Silver Spoon had the sudden urge to back away from Apple Bloom. A sudden glare of anger in those amber eyes had really taken the grey filly by surprise. But Apple Bloom just took another few deep breaths and closed her eyes. "Has it ever occurred to ya' that _she_ didn't tell the truth?" Now there was no concealment for anything in her voice. It was shaking with anger and frustration. And, to her astonishment, Silver Spoon was sure she heard a bit of disappointment as well.

"Now you're calling her a liar?" Her reply was weak. She had wanted to postulate an accusation but noticed at once it came out as a meekly excuse for a dodge.

"Listen, Ah' don't know what she told ya'. Maybe she misunderstood what Ah' said. Or it's just that she doesn't want my family to be part of the reason for her family's riches. But truth is, Ah' never told any lies about her or her family."

Silver Spoon tried to think of a rebuttal to this. But not only couldn't she come up with any counter-argument. The more she thought about what Apple Bloom had said, the more it made sense to her. And since she didn't respond in any way, Apple Bloom continued: "Now that Ah' think back to Family Appreciation Day, I get the feelin' it was then when Ah' started hopin' that at least ya' would finally turn around and stop being so rude to me and ma' friends. But why is it yer still tryin' to have a go at us whenever ya' see us?"

Finally, something easy to answer. This was such a relief for her that Silver Spoon actually smiled when she said: "Well, because Diamaond Tiara says-"

"No. Stop right there," Apple Bloom interrupted her. "Don't give me a reason why Diamond Tiara is doin' this. Tell me _yer reasons_ why yer doin' it."

Silver Spoon's confidence was gone as fast as it had appeared. "But, Diamond Tiara-"

"Don't ya' have any thoughts of yer own? Do ya have to rely on Diamond Tiara for everythin'?" Apple Bloom shot at her.

"Oh, but it's okay for you to justify everything you do and say with that sister of yours?" Silver Spoon countered, getting a little huffy.

"Ah'm not justifyin' anythin'. Yes, Ah' do ask ma' sister a lot for help. Because she's older than me and therefore knows more than me. But Diamond Tiara is the same age as ya' and frankly, Ah'm not sure if she does even know a smitch more about anythin' than either of us does. Maybe ya' should try thinking for yerself for a change."

Silver Spoon was dumbstruck. Somehow this little chance for telling Apple Bloom off for once had changed into a more than unpleasant experience very quickly. But, to Silver Spoons confusion, somewhere in her mind the more Apple Bloom said the more she had to think of Bon Bon. Why was the advice about helping others to improve slowly creeping into her mind right now?

Endless seconds passed as Silver Spoon's mind raced to come up with a response to Apple Bloom's words. All the while she was trying to understand why her subconscious was bringing up Bon Bon's advice right now. Apple Bloom's intense stare did not help her in any way. The grey filly broke the eye contact in the hope to find something inspiring for her. But neither the trees, bushes nor the grass at her hooves came to her aide. But when she lifted her head back up, she saw something else coming up to them. Or rather, somepony else.

As if the whole situation wasn't bad enough in itself, somehow Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had decided to join it right now. And Silver Spoon definitely didn't like the look on the face of the latter. The orange pegasus filly's gaze was fixated on Silver Spoon, burning with anger. The little white unicorn on the other hand looked rather worried than anything else. She made fainthearted attempts to hold her friend back as they both closed in on the fillies already present.

"What are you up to this time? Trying to make her cry again?" Scootaloo threw at Silver Spoon as she walked the last steps over to her. She stopped when their faces were only inches apart, staring right into the accused filly's eyes.

Silver Spoon was about to reply when another voice said: "We're just talkin'."

"I told you last time, you never…" Scootaloo fell silent and turned her head around. "Wait, did you just say that, Apple Bloom?"

"Yes, Ah' did. At first, Ah' wanted to do… what we had talked about. But then Ah' figured Fluttershy was right. If we just keep fightin', nothin'-"

"Oh come on, Fluttershy is nice and all but she is _too_ nice. She knows nothing about having a fight. I bet she would even try asking a dragon to leave when it's right about to burn Ponyville to the ground."

"I bet she would rather stare it down," Sweetie Belle chimed in, her face brimming with excitement.

"Don't be ridiculous, even she couldn't do that," Scootaloo shot her down.

Apple Bloom scratched her chin. "Ya' really think so? The way she snubbed that Cockathingy was awesome. Maybe she could take a dragon."

"I think so, too," Sweetie Belle agreed, still smiling.

"Well, I don't," Scootaloo replied.

"Um, hello?" Silver Spoon asked.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders fell silent and looked at Silver Spoon slightly surprised, as if they had completely forgotten she was still there.

"Oh, yeah. You. So you were just talking, huh?" The way Scootaloo stressed every word made it perfectly clear she still didn't believe the two of them were able to have a normal conversation.

Silver Spoon sighed. "Told you so."

"I don't believe you. I know you were trying to get to Apple Bloom again. Maybe she hadn't noticed it yet, but I know you were."

The young pegasus sounded even angrier than before. Silver Spoon on the other hand got more annoyed with each word Scootaloo had said.

"How would you know that? Stop acting like everything I do is for making her cry."

"But that's what you do," Scootaloo stated matter-of-factly.

"No, why would you say that?" cried Silver Spoon

"Because it's the truth."

Silver Spoon had her mouth already open to give another reply when a realization struck her. The way this conversation went was all too familiar for her. And she didn't like it one bit. Being on this end of it was really aggravating. Not exactly the fact of being falsely accused but rather the way it happened. The crude assumption without any attempt of reasoning was frustrating.

She glanced over to Apple Bloom, who also was about to say something but then noticed Silver Spoon's look. Her eyes held contact with Silver Spoon's for a moment, then the filly closed her mouth and smiled. Silver Spoon knew exactly what Apple Bloom tried to tell her with that.

"No, it's not," the silver maned filly sighed. "But never mind that. What was that plan you three had worked out for me?"

"Giving you some of your own medicine," was Scootaloo's quick and direct answer. Then she turned to Apple Bloom again: "Why didn't you just tell her she is just a stuck-up, egocentrically little brat that has no real fr-"

"Because it wouldn't have helped anythin'," Apple Bloom interrupted her. Silver Spoon was surprised how stern her voice was. She had never expected her to talk to one of her friends like that. It almost felt to Silver Spoon like she was defending her. But the little grey filly knew that couldn't be true.

The statement was followed by a moment of silence when both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stared intensely at each other. So all the other three fillies heard Silver Spoon as she mumbled: "Strange, that's almost exactly what Bon Bon said…"

"Who?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo asked in unison.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow and asked: "Wait, somepony actually told you that?"

"No, she didn't say it about me, but about Apple Bloom," Silver Spoon corrected the white unicorn.

"What?" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Why would she say that?"

"And who is this Bon Bon anyway? Another spoiled little brat like you?" Scootaloo added.

As infuriating as those words were, Silver Spoon worked up all her self control to ignore the insult. "She is the owner of the candy store. A cream-colored mare with a blue and purple mane. Her cutie mark is three bonbons."

"Yeah, I know her," Sweetie Belle said, "but what does she have to do with Apple Bloom? How does she even know her?"

Silver Spoon explained: "She said she met her when Apple Bloom tried to sell her some apples."

"Oh," was all that came from Apple Bloom. Within an instant her face turned crimson and to the ground. When she noticed that the other three stared at her expectantly, she added: "Well, Ah' think Ah' know her, too. Ah' admit Ah' may have been a tad bit overzealous that day."

"What day?" Scootaloo asked.

"What did you do?" Sweetie Belle wanted to know.

Apple Bloom's head sunk even lower: "Well, if ya' really need to know… but it's pretty embarrassin'… ya see, it was the day of Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera when Ah' was so desperate to get ma' cutie mark. So Ah' tried a lot of different things that day. When Ah' tried sellin' Apples with ma' sister, Ah' put some apples in her bag and…" Her voice trembled of into an incomprehensible mumbling.

"And what?" inquired Scootaloo.

"And Ah' tried to force her to pay by pretendin' she took them by herself," Apple Bloom finished with her eyes closed.

Silver Spoon just stared at Apple Bloom and her friends in silent disbelief. And those friends were fixated on Apple Bloom, also not saying anything. The yellow filly herself continued to look at the grass around her hooves. Silver Spoon felt awkward. There was something inside of her that somehow came to the impression that what had happened on the mentioned day was somehow partly her fault. As silly as that sounded.

But there was another thought which bothered Silver Spoon even more; Apple Bloom did something stupid. That wasn't anything new. But usually, when she did so, that wasn't the end of it. Silver Spoon knew that. Those stories usually, no, _always_ ended with that filly getting some undeserved reward or praise at least. That's why she asked: "And then what happened? How did you get out of it that time?"

Apple Bloom lifted her head just far enough so she could look at Silver Spoon and said: "Ah' didn't. Applejack was pretty angry and sent me home."

Silver Spoon waited but that was all that came from Apple Bloom. "That's it? Nothing else?"

"What do ya' mean, that's it? Applejack had never been that angry with me before. She didn't even want me around her anymore back then."

"And you didn't get grounded? Or got your allowance cut? Or had to mow the lawn while the gardener got a day off?"

"You have a gardener, Apple Bloom?" a surprised Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, we don't," Apple Bloom replied exasperatedly to Sweetie Belle, then turned back to Silver Spoon. "First of all, Ah' always help mowin' the lawn. And secondly, no, Ah didn't get grounded or got ma' allowance cut. Not then, not ever. Applejack would never be so mean to me."

"So you did get away with it. Like having your sister being angry at you is so special. Not much of a punishment." Silver Spoon sighed in angry resignation.

"How can you say that?" exclaimed Sweetie Belle. "Having your sister being angry at you is terrible."

Silver Spoon snorted in frustration. "If that's really the worst you can think of and your sisters are so awesome, then why did you go to that Fluttershy to cry over what I said to you?"

The yellow filly remained calm. "Because we were meeting up there anyway for our sleepover. And ma' sister would've been busy buckin' apples."

This explanation was not exactly helping Silver Spoon to understand what had transpired two days ago. Quite the contrary, it just confused her even more. "Why are you having a sleepover at her place? Why not at any of your homes?"

"Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are goin' on vacation tomorrow with their families, so they're too busy with preparations. And my sister and brother have to work real hard at the farm right now, so they don't want the responsibility to look after the three of us on top of that. But since we won't see each other for the next two weeks, we asked Fluttershy. We had a sleepover at hers before and it was great. And now we're campin' in her garden."

"Camping? What is camping?"

Apple Bloom and her friends looked as if Silver Spoon had asked if two and two was still four. The red maned filly asked: "Ya' really don't know what that is?"

"No, I never heard of that," replied Silver Spoon honestly.

"But we read a story about it in school only a few month ago," Sweetie Belle threw in.

"We did?"

The grey filly couldn't remember, as hard as she tried. But she didn't have to think too long about it, because Apple Bloom was nice enough to finally give her a short description of what they were talking about: "It's livin' in a tent, sleepin' in sleepin' bags and cookin' ya' food over a camp fire."

Silver Spoon couldn't believe what she heard. This idea was so strange, so nonsensical to her. Sleeping in a tent instead of a comfortable bed? Cooking your own meals? By choice?

After a brief moment of confusion she asked: "And you're really doing that because you want to? That is not some kind of punishment for something you did?"

_Maybe that's why nopony bothers with punishing them, they just keep punishing themselves. And like it._

"Of course we want to. Telling stories in the evening, singing songs and just spending time together as friends is awesome," Sweetie Belle laughed.

Silver Spoon still wasn't sure what to make of that. That white coated unicorn was just too excitable. She had to ask: "But can't you do that in a house just as well?"

"No." This time it was Apple Bloom again who answered. "Okay, of course ya' can do those things inside a house together. But doin' it while yer on yer own outside somehow makes it more special." She smiled at Silver Spoon who still wasn't convinced. And her face must have shown that because Apple Bloom added: "Well, if ya' don't believe me, why don't ya' try it for yerself?"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at her alarmed, obviously expecting the same as Silver Spoon. And Apple Bloom fulfilled these expectations: "Just come and join us for tonight!"

"What?" her friends shrieked in shock and terror.

Sweetie Belle just stared at her disbelievingly. But Scootaloo wasn't done with that. "Apple Bloom, are you out of your mind? Inviting _her_? It's the last time in the next two weeks Sweetie Belle, you and I will see each other. And you want to ruin it with that one?"

Those last remarks went right to Silver Spoons heart. Why? She didn't know herself. She wouldn't want to do something stupid like that anyway, right? Then how was it that being denied the chance for it brought her on the verge of tears in an instant? Confused about herself and suddenly furious about the other fillies around her she cried: "Who said I wanted to anyway?"

And with that she ran off. Through the clip-clop of her hooves and her own sobs she heard Apple Bloom calling out something but couldn't understand what. Right now it didn't matter. All that was important at the moment was to make sure they wouldn't even see a single tear on her face.

When she had put enough distance between them and herself to be sure they couldn't see her anymore, she finally slowed down. She still didn't know why those last remarks made her cry all of a sudden. The outlooks of spending a whole night with those three was more terrifying to her than the whole prospect of all the make-up classes.

As she tried to figure out what happened and relived the conversation in her head again, still not able to control her tears in the slightest, something else crossed her mind. Something that had flown past her back then. Had Apple Bloom said her sister would never punish her for anything? Why should she in the first place? Wasn't that parents-business?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Once again her hooves had moved Silver Spoon instinctively right in front of the candy shop. And maybe that was really for the best. She needed somepony to talk and some sweets weren't so bad either.

When she entered the shop another filly passed her. Her vision was still so blurry she didn't see who it was, but she didn't care at the moment. Rubbing her eyes to finally get a clear view again and still sobbing she made her way to the counter. Before she reached it Bon Bon was already by her side.

"Oh honey, what happened? Are you hurt?"

Before Silver Spoon was able to say anything, the mare had pulled her into a tight hug. Feeling Bon Bon's warmth against herself and a gentle hoof stroking her mane was calming. Subconsciously, she buried her face in Bon Bon's chest. Finally she felt at ease, yet she somehow wanted to cry even more at the same time. It was a strange feeling, but all in all pleasant and warm. She was safe now, protected from anything that could ever hurt her. The filly took a few deep breaths and slowly pulled away from Bon Bon, wiping away the last of her tears and smiling with thankfulness. The salespony smiled as well, reassuringly and encouraging.

"Come on now, tell me everything that happened."

Still sniffing occasionally, Silver Spoon replied: "I had another talk with Apple Bloom. She said somepony named Fluttershy told her she should ask me why I said all that to her. So I told her and we talked about that until her friends came along. They thought I was fighting with Apple Bloom or something like that. But even when she told them we weren't fighting, they kept being mean to me. And when Apple Bloom invited me to go camping with them, Scootaloo said I would spoil everything."

She had to stop there. For one thing because talking about it made her eyes burn again and she had to fight hard not to break out into tears once more. For the other thing, she noticed how much what she said sounded like she wanted to go camping. Camping with the loser trio. And she didn't want that. Definitely. She wanted to make sure Bon Bon didn't misunderstand her but still, she wasn't able to talk right now. Bon Bon on the other hand was able to.

"That was awful of her. No wonder you're so upset. You really wanted to go with them, hm?"

At first she wanted to yell "No!", but something kept her from doing so. More than just her fear of starting to cry again. She didn't want to go and yet, she wasn't able to say it. Some part of her mind was refusing to do it. She had to face it, somehow she did want to go camping and at the same time she didn't. All these contradicting feelings blocked her throat. After a few futile attempts to answer Bon Bon's question she mumbled: "I don't know…"

"The way you look you do want to," Bon Bon said warmly. "And I think you should. It was more than nice of Apple Bloom to offer it to you after all that happened."

"Yeah, I don't get that at all. Why would she do that?"

"I guess she really wants to get all those nasty things between the both of you out of this world. And I think camping is a perfect way to get over past things and become friends."

Silver Spoon still wasn't convinced. The whole idea was too irritating for her. But Bon Bon was so nice to her. She had helped her before and now she was taking care of her again. More than anypony had in a long time. Why would she encourage her to go camping if it wasn't as enjoyable as everypony said? Silver Spoon had to ask: "Is it really that great? It sounded pretty boring to me. And uncomfortable."

Bon Bon chuckled. "I can see where you're coming from. But believe me, it is way more fun than it sounds like."

Silver Spoon thought for a mment. That wasn't exactly convincing. But maybe she should just give it a try? But then again, of what use was it to think about that option? "It doesn't matter if I want to anyways, Scootaloo would never let me join them."

Bon Bon shook her head. "Don't give up so quickly, honey. Maybe you should talk to them again, calm and friendly. Don't forget, you already have Apple Bloom on your side."

"But I'm not even sure if I really want to go camping..." And more importantly, Silver Spoon didn't want to face Scootaloo at the moment.

Bon Bon's smile grew even warmer, as impossible as it seemed to Silver Spoon. "Then tell me, why were you so upset when you came here?"

"I don't know… It's just that what Scootaloo said was really hurtful. She kept saying mean things that weren't true without having any proof and wouldn't listen to me when I told her she was wrong."

There. She said it. And she already knew what Bon Bon was going to say next: "That was very mean of her, yes. But you have to admit, that sounds strangely familiar, hm?"

"Yes…" Silver Spoon whispered and then went on a bit louder: "When she refused to let me join them, just assuming I would spoil their fun, it was too much. It wasn't about not letting me join their camping, it was about her just accusing me of things I didn't do. Or wouldn't do. Without any proof. She just rejected me like that. And that hurt."

"Oh Honey, I know what you're saying. She was wrong, like you were. But just like you she can change. I'm sure she'll come around and apologize for what she said. As I said, just try talking to them again. Just keep in mind that you do have Apple Bloom on your side. Stay calm and don't let yourself get pulled into useless arguments."

For a moment, Silver Spoon considered Bon Bon's words. What did she have to lose? At worst, things would stay as they were now. At best, she would make some friends. And even if not, by now she shared Apple Bloom's opinion. It would indeed be nice if they just wouldn't get into fights any more. She concluded that Bon Bon was right. Finally, being able to smile again, she said: "Okay, I will. Thanks, Bon Bon."

Now, with her head cleared and in newfound joy, another thing sprung into her mind. There was something she just needed to know. "Is it true that Apple Bloom tried to sell you apples by stuffing them into your bags?"

Even though she seemed to be a bit surprised about the sudden change of topic, Bon Bon grinned. "Yes, it's true. Who told you?"

"Apple Bloom. Somehow this came up. She seemed pretty embarrassed about all that."

"Well she'd better be. But on the other hoof, Applejack gave me a load of apples as an apology. Those were the candy apples I had on sale a few month ago. Do you remember?"

"Of course I do. I never had so many candy apples in my life before." Silver Spoon glistened as she dwelled in memories. Candy Apples were her favorite sweets aside from Braeburns. And her stock had lasted for days back then.

"I guess in some way you'll have to thank Apple Bloom for that."

"That gives me an idea," Silver Spoon said. "Do you have some candy apples here? I'll take four!"

Bon Bon nodded and went back behind her counter. She wrapped up the candy apples and handed them over to Sweetie Belle. The filly paid, thanked Bon Bon once more and stormed out the door.

The candy apples stuffed into her school bag, Silver Spoon ran across the streets of Ponyville, startling a few other ponies and barely avoiding crashing into a hay wagon that suddenly turned around a corner. The angry yelling of the wagon's owner behind her, she dashed straight towards the Ever Free Forest. It was the only thing she knew about where that Fluttershy lived. Fortunately the bordering parts of the Ever Free Forest and Ponyville weren't that wide, so she had a pretty good chance to find Fluttershy's home on her own.

A few minutes later she trotted along the edge of her hometown, careful not to get to close to that dark woodland she has been warned of so often. Sure, it was still a few hundred yards from the last homes belonging to Ponyville. But after everything ponies said about that dreaded piece of landscape, she didn't want to get one step closer to it than necessary.

All the houses here seemed so ordinary. But hadn't Apple Bloom said something about "all those animals" Fluttershy lived with? None of the buildings looked as if they were designed to house any more than a cat or dog or maybe some unwanted rats.

Already wondering if she shouldn't ask somepony for directions, she saw one house that was unlike any other around here. Actually, it wasn't really around here in the first place rather than a house over there. It stood a short distance outside of Ponyville, separated by a creek running by. Vast green meadows and a few trees with birdhouses hung in them surrounded it. And there were animals. Lots and lots of animals.

As Silver Spoon walked closer towards the house she saw them. In the trees were birds singing and squirrels roaming for food. The meadows were filled with bunnies nibbling away at some clover, bees were buzzing around the flowers, joined by fluttering butterflies. Here and there Silver Spoon could see weasels or ferrets – she wasn't able to distinguish between them – rustling through the grass, chasing each other playfully. And even the creek, small as it was, brimmed with live. Happily quacking ducks were paddling around across it and every now and then, a fish hopped out of the creek, spraying small drops of water across the air glittering like tiny diamonds, before they disappeared back into the water within a second.

The house itself reminded Silver Spoon of a tree at first. But when she took a closer look she saw that it was rather modeled to appear like a tree. First and foremost the roof and most of the walls were covered with leaves. Additionally, it looked like the house hadn't been built by design but had grown on its own, out of the ground into its current shape. All the wood used to build this house completed the image. Right next to the house was a chicken coop which seemed almost out of place. With all these free and happy animals running or flying around it seemed almost cruel to lock up some chickens right where they were able to see what they would never get.

When Silver Spoon got closer to the cottage she could hear voices coming from its other side. Voices she would recognize anytime. They belonged to the three fillies she was looking for. Slowly, almost sneaking, she moved closer to them. When she peeked around the corner, they came into view. All of them sat in front of a tent around a camp fire, even though it was still a sunny summer afternoon. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had their backs turned towards Silver Spoon, but Apple Bloom was facing into her direction. Each of them held sticks with marshmallows stuck to them into the fire. Silver Spoon thought about just walking up to them, but then she heard Apple Bloom saying:

"About Silver Spoon…"

She froze dead in her tracks. Not knowing exactly why she did it, she pressed against the wall next to her.

"What about her?" asked Sweetie Belle in response.

"Ah' think we should give her a chance."

"A chance for what?" Scootaloo wanted to know. Her tone stated clearly that she didn't want to give the named filly any chance at all, no matter what for.

"Campin' with us," was Apple Bloom's answer.

Scootaloo groaned in annoyance. "Why are you coming up with this again all of a sudden? Why bring it up at all? Have you already forgotten what she did to you only two days ago?"

"And she said she didn't want to," Sweetie Belle added.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "No, Ah' haven't forgotten what happened. And that's exactly why Ah' want her to join us here."

For a moment there was silence. Then Scootaloo could be heard: "Were you planning on getting your revenge right here? Did you want to put bugs into her sleeping bag or something like that?"

"What? No!" exclaimed a shocked Apple Bloom, "Ah' told ya already, Ah' want to get whatever problems she has with us solved. When Ah' talked to her again this day, Ah' somehow got the feelin' she isn't that bad at heart. It's more like she never stops to think about what she's sayin'. And maybe she needs some other friends than Diamond Tiara."

Another groan escaped Scootaloo. "Fine, as soon as I'm off tomorrow, you can walk right up to her house and ask her to be your friend. See what happens and don't come crying to me when I'm back. But I don't want her to be _my_ friend."

"Ah' don't even know where her house is."

"Me neither," added Sweetie Belle.

"And I don't even want to know," grumbled Scootaloo. "But that's not my point!"

"I don't know, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully, "maybe we should-"

"Oh, not you too, Sweetie Belle." As far as Silver Spoon could see it from her position, Scootaloo had put her hoof against her forehead. Her voice sounded anguished. "Has Fluttershy put something in your breakfast this morning? I don't think she'll ever change. Don't you see? She's not even here and she's still annoying me to death and got us into an argument."

Silver Spoon backed a few steps away from the corner. Why did they have to start talking about her at this time? There was no way she could walk over to them now.

"Hello there."

The voice came from behind her. It was weak and gentle, almost a whisper. Yet to Silver Spoon it felt like somepony had yelled directly into her ears. She turned around, her heart pounding.

There stood a yellow female pegasus with a long pink mane. Her whole face was giving Silver Spoon a soft and warm smile, but all she could return was shock and fear.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you, Silver Spoon. I didn't mean to," she said apologetically. "Do you want to talk to Apple Bloom?"

"Well, no, I-" Silver Spoon stammered. Then she paused for a second. "Hey, why do you know my name?"

The mare giggled: "Apple Bloom told me about you. Grey coat, silver mane and a cutie mark fitting your name."

"And who are you?" the filly wanted to know.

The happy expression on her face quickly faded away. Now she didn't just sound apologetically, she also looked that way: "Oh, of course, I'm sorry. My name is Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you." With those words she was back to a gentle smile again. "If you are not here to see Apple Bloom, would you like to come inside and have some tea?"

At first, she wanted to decline. Staying here any longer than necessary would only increase the risk of getting found out by Apple Bloom and her friends. But that warm, welcoming smile made it more than hard for her to refuse after all. So after a brief moment of consideration, she accepted the offer.

The interior was as warm and inviting as the whole cottage. A tranquil peace emanated from the living room into which Silver Spoon was led. She sat down on a more than comfortable sofa. She was strangely reminded of her grandmother's room in the retirement home. That wasn't as big as this house, of course, but it gave her a pleasant feeling of being sheltered. Through the open door she could see Fluttershy make the promised tea in her kitchen, humming a sweet little melody. And she was still smiling as if serving tea to a filly she just met sneaking around her house was her greatest joy.

She watched her for a moment, thinking about what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell had said about their – and now Silver Spoon's – host earlier. This Fluttershy emanated such an aura of peace, tranquility and gentleness. It was hard, no, impossible to imagine her in any kind of fight, let alone with a dragon.

Silver Spoon's thoughts were rudely interrupted as a shiver ran down her spine. Somepony was watching her. She looked around but couldn't find any other pony. There was just a bunny. It was sitting across the room at the bottom of the stairs that led to the upper floor. At least, that creature looked like a bunny. But the way it stared daggers at Silver Spoon was more like that of a well-trained watchdog.

The little thing hopped over to the couch, not breaking eye contact for a second. Then it jumped onto the couch and sat right next to Silver Spoon. She was curious and afraid at the same time of what would happen next. The bunny on the other hand showed no sign of intention to do anything but glare at Silver Spoon. The more she looked into those large black eyes the dizzier she felt. But something kept her from looking away. In the end, it was Fluttershy who saved her when she finally brought in the tea.

"I see you have already met Angel," said Fluttershy gesturing at the bunny. Then she added towards it: "Angel, this is Silver Spoon, my guest. So be nice to her."

When she had served the tea and sat down in a chair on the other side of the table Fluttershy turned back to the still uneasy filly: "Now tell me Silver Spoon, why are you here?"

"Why I'm here? That's what I would like to ask you. Why did you offer me tea?" Silver Spoon replied, making sure she kept that 'Angel' in her view.

"Because I offer tea to all of my guests." From any other pony she knew Silver Spoon would have taken this answer as a mocking joke. But this one she barely knew said it with such friendly sincerity, she didn't doubt for a second the pegasus mare meant what she had said. But still it didn't answer her question.

"That's not what I meant. Why did you invite me in? If you heard about me from Apple Bloom, I'm pretty sure you didn't get the best picture of me."

"Yes, what I heard about you was not very nice," she said, still keeping her kind smile.

Silver Spoon was convinced she had heard a slight shift of tone in Fluttershy's voice. But not the kind she had expected. She didn't try to scold her or sounded disappointed in any way. What she had heard was some kind of sincerity that somehow reminded her once more of her grandmother. It was the kind of tone she struck when she explained to Silver Spoon something really important. Mostly when the filly had done something bad, like braking a vase or drawing on the wall of the living room.

"But that was all the more reason for me to talk to you. I've never seen Apple Bloom as upset as two days ago. Now I don't want to talk about what you said to her. All I want to know from you is: Did you really want to hurt her like that?"

Fluttershy still kept smiling gently through everything she said. There was still no hint of accusation, much less anger in her tone. Silver Spoon started to feel uneasy. This pegasus was so unnaturally friendly, it began to weird her out. And that irritating bunny right next to her was of no help, as his gaze seemed to scream 'Answer the question!' at her.

She lowered her eyes, now looking at her cup of tea, just to be able to talk. "I… I… I don't know. Maybe I did. No, I'm pretty sure I did. But then again, I didn't want to let it get to that."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't want her to break down like that. I never imagined her to run off crying. I didn't even think she was able to cry."

"But if you didn't want to hurt her, why would you say those things at all?"

Still, there was no accusation. This was a question of genuine interest.

"Because… Well, because… I don't know..."

"Do you really not know or do you just don't want to talk about it?"

Silver Spoon didn't answer immediately. This reminded her more and more of a lot of talks her grandmother had with her. If the topic hadn't been so serious she had almost smiled at that thought. But since it was she just said:

"Both."

Fluttershy nodded. "Okay. If you don't want to talk about it to me, that's fine."

"It is?" Silver Spooned lifted her head and stared right into Fluttershy's eyes again. She had to make sure this wasn't a joke.

"Yes, it is. But you should think about the reasons why you said those things, because Apple Bloom will want to talk to you about all this. And she has the right to know, so you should tell her."

Silver Spoon refrained herself from telling Fluttershy that Apple Bloom had already tried that. It would only unnecessarily draw out this conversation and as loveable as Fluttershy seemed to her she wanted to get out of there. This situation as whole was just too unsettling. But there was still something Fluttershy had said poking at the back of Silver Spoon's mind. She had to give it a try. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Fluttershy smiled even wider. Her answer was as cheerful as if she had waited for that question.

"What did you mean by 'a cutie mark matching her name'?"

Fluttershy gave her puzzled look. "That your cutie mark looks like a silver spoon, just like Apple Bloom had described it."

Silver Spoon involuntarily looked at her cutie mark.

"That's no spoon."

"It's… not?" Fluttershy now sounded as confused as she looked. Then, looking at Silver Spoon's cutie mark, her eyes widened in realization. When she spoke again, she covered her mouth with a hoof, almost as if to cover up what she had noticed. "Oh my. I'm sorry. Now that you say it… But that's…"

Silver Spoon was taken aback by the yellow pegasus's reaction. She seemed to be almost on the verge of tears. Panicking, Silver Spoon looked around the room. There was nothing or nopony to help her. Just that little bunny, giving her a quick and angry 'That's your fault' look before it hopped over to Fluttershy.

"It's okay," Silver Spoon said hesitantly, "I'm not offended or anything. There's no need to-"

But Fluttershy just waved a hoof. "No, it's just that I imagined how you could have discovered such a talent. But it's silly of me, I know. I guess, somepony needs to be good at that, too." She smiled again, clearly fighting to hold back her tears. Turning to her pet which was holding her hoof she added: "It's all right Angel, I'm fine."

Silver Spoon on the other hand didn't feel all right. On the contrary, she was now even more nervous than. "Okay, I should go now. Thank you for the tea."

"Oh, there's no need to thank me. But do you really have to go? I'd really like to hear the story of your cutie mark."

Silver Spoon gulped. After Fluttershy's reaction just to realizing what that cutie mark was, she wasn't so sure if she should tell her that story right now. And she still wanted to get out of the reach of those three other fillies sitting outside.

"I'm really sorry, but maybe I'll come by again and tell you."

"That would be nice," Fluttershy nodded. She hesitated for a moment, then added: "Is there anything you want me to tell Apple Bloom for you?"

"No," answered Silver Spoon. "Not tell, but give."

The question had reminded her of something. She stood up and took the candy apples out of her saddle bag.

"Could you give these to them? And please, don't tell them they're from me."

"I will," said Fluttershy nodding.

Waving her hoof and with a last glance at that bunny still glaring at her Silver Spoon left the house. Outside, she tried to listen for a moment if she could still hear those fillies that she came for in the first place. But at the front door she was too far away to understand them. So she walked back through the peaceful scenery of an animal-filled meadow which looked rather surreal to her all of a sudden.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Silver Spoon spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly through the town once again. Not because she was distracted or upset. This time, she was simply bored. Anything she could do at home seemed pointless. She didn't know why. And she didn't try to figure it out.

The day took its time to pass by as young couples strolled through the park, grown-ups took care of their shops or whatever business was theirs and lots of fillies and colts had more fun than she and wouldn't let Silver Spoon join. Not that she intended to ask them. She wouldn't stoop down to begging for company.

But the day went over into evening eventually – though Silver Spoon could have sworn it took twice as long as usual – and so she headed home at last. She did her best to ignore all the maids, butlers and whoever worked at her mansion that wanted to let her know they hoped that she had a good day and everything went fine at school.

The supper was as tasty as always but still she couldn't enjoy herself. For the first time in a very long time something seemed to be missing. And that something was company. Normally she preferred being alone, not having to answer bothering question from her parents about school or if she had finished her homework or if she still remembered that some of her father's important business partners was going to join them for dinner the next evening and she had to be on her best behavior then.

But this evening she felt terribly lonely. She would even have preferred the company of_ her_ over sitting there alone. However, nopony was going to keep Silver Spoon company. Sure, the kitchen staff brought the food and took away empty plates. But their company was limited to asking if 'the young lady' was satisfied with the food, wanted another helping, and if she preferred strawberries or cherries for dessert.

After dinner that young lady went straight to bed. All she wanted now was to sleep away this day and call it over. But Silver Spoon had to learn that days like these wouldn't let you get rid of them that easy. She just lay in bed, tossing and turning. Her head was filled with all the things that had happened since school ended today.

Today?

It seemed like weeks had passed since then.

She tried to forget about it all, block out the memories, think of happier things. But the more she fought them the more these memories hogged her head. After a while – it felt like hours to her – she couldn't stand it anymore. Unnerved by her own mind she threw herself out of bed.

Silver Spoon decided she needed some fresh air. Her mother always said she needed fresh air whenever something got on her nerves. Which happened a lot. So the filly stepped out onto the balcony.

The sun had almost set. Only a glimpse of red could be seen far away on the horizon. Most of the sky was already deep blue and the first stars heralded the few dark hours of another short summer night.

Silver Spoon placed her front hooves on the balustrade, rested her head on them and took a deep breath. The air was still warm from the long day's heat but it carried the pleasant scent of freshly mowed grass.

Involuntarily, Silver Spoon had to think of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Right now, her three classmates were sitting around a flickering fire, telling each other stories and eating marshmallows. Or her candy apples. Maybe even that Fluttershy told a story to them. What kind of story would that be?

Led by this question her thoughts moved to about three years ago. Back then she had an old mare as a nursery maid who had told a story to Silver Spoon every night when she had put her to bed.

It was strange. Silver Spoon knew she had loved her and her bedtime stories very much. But she couldn't remember a single one of them. In fact, she had almost forgotten about her nanny.

For a while she stood on the balcony, silently staring into the night sky. Fragments of ponytales about princesses, knights and dragons, about witches and talking animals drifted in and out of her mind. She couldn't remember a single complete one. But thinking about them finally gave her some distraction and she felt the tiredness she had hoped for. With an inexplicably happy feeling she went back to bed and was fast asleep within moments.

The next day however forced everything she had fought so hard to forget about back into her consciousness with brutal force. Her breakfast was as lonely as the dinner the evening before. And after that she was faced by one more day filled with nothing.

Silver Spoon settled for the same thing as yesterday. This time around she didn't even bother to go to the park. She had already seen all that there was to see. Unfortunately for Silver Spoon, Ponyville wasn't that big and after all the wandering she did the past few days she had to find she had already seen almost every other corner that was worth seeing as well.

After a few hours of finding nothing new or just something interesting she decided to go to the one place she would always enjoy being at. The candy store. She trotted through the streets and alleys, pondering what she would buy today. But when she turned around the last corner she ran into someone unexpected.

"Thee? I told you she cometh here often," said a lisping voice which belonged to that red maned, glasses-wearing friend of Apple Bloom who always sounded like she had a slight cold. Whatever her name was. At her side stood Apple Bloom herself, just turning around as said friend pointed in Silver Spoon's direction.

Silver Spoon stopped dead in her tracks. Why was Apple Bloom here? Why was she looking for her? Should she run away? Or just turn around? Act like she suddenly remembered something important and had to go back? Pretending she hadn't noticed those two?

The seconds she needed to play through her options were more than enough for Apple Bloom to shatter them all at once. Her cheery voice floated over to Silver Spoon.

"Thank goodness yer here!"

Silver Spoon panicked. Fluttershy had predicted this. As the pegasus had said, Apple Bloom wanted answers to why Silver Spoon had always been so mean to her. And she deserved them, Silver Spoon knew that deep down in her heart. The thing was, she had no idea how to explain it. She wasn't even sure if there was a way to explain this without upsetting Apple Bloom even more. But that didn't seem to bother Apple Bloom at all.

"Ah' had no idea where ya' live and so did nopony Ah' know. But Twist," she said nodding towards her glasses-wearing friend, "said Ah' should wait here. Do ya' really come here that often?"

"Er…" was all Silver Spoon was able to give as an answer.

"Ethpecially during vacationth!" Twist threw in, smiling as if she had just won something.

Silver Spoon looked from one filly to the other and back. All she had in mind was getting some candies, go back home and be bored. And now she was confronted with two sickeningly joyful classmates who looked like they were about to celebrate her arrival. Finally she managed to produce a whole sentence of her own:

"What do you want from me?"

She cursed herself for sounding more aggressive than she had intended to. Luckily, Apple Bloom had either missed her tone or chose to ignore it. Her smile didn't change in the slightest when she answered: "Askin' yer over to Fluttershy's for a sleepover!"

Silver Spoon blinked a few times until she had completely proceeded what had just been said. "You want to what? Why? Didn't you say your sleepover was only until today?"

"With Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, yes. But Ah' asked Fluttershy if Ah' could invite ya' for another one. And since it's the weekend, she had nothin' against it."

"But why?" Silver Spoon exclaimed. She was caught between the confusion about what was happing right now and the uprising wave of joy about this second chance offered to her. And there was still a small part of her mind keen on protesting the idea of going camping at all she had to subdue.

"Well, for one 'cause Ah'm sorry for Scootaloo's reaction. She's the best friend yer could ask for but she's mighty stubborn at times. And to thank ya' for the Candy Apples. But also 'cause Ah' want to get to know ya' better. And like Ah' said, camping is perfect for that."

"I still don't get it. Why are you so obsessed with becoming my friend all of a sudden? Why are you acting so nice after everything I said to you?"

Apple Bloom grinned. "Ah'm not actin'."

"What?"

"She thayth she really ith nithe," Apple Bloom's friend explained.

Silver Spoon closed her eyes and rubbed her fore-head. Yet she had a hard time keeping a smile from her face. It was just too amusing how Apple Bloom was somehow able to be real nice and likeable while getting on her nerves at the same time. "Okay, so you are nice. But that doesn't answer my question."

Apple Bloom groaned. "Why are ya' makin' this so complicated? Can't ya' just accept that I want to be yer friend? Do ya' really want to keep us hatin' each other?"

"No, I don't," she replied honestly. And for once, she wasn't surprised by it. She meant it and she meant to say it. She wasn't sure if it had been Apple Bloom's persistency or Bon Bon's counseling. Or maybe even both. But she had already admitted to herself she wanted to solve whatever problems lay between them. And there was no point in denying it anymore.

"Great! Then why don't we go to yer place, pick up yer stuff and go to Fluttershy?"

Silver Spoon was about to ask again about Apple Bloom's real reasons for her change of heart. But what she had said was true. Was it really that important why she offered this chance? Sure, Silver Spoon wanted to know, but why not wait until they actually were camping to bring it up again? After all, she had said herself, camping is the best way for getting to know each other. However, this brought up something else.

"But I don't have a sleeping bag."

"That's no problem, Ah' already figured that when ya' told me ya' never were campin' before. Ah' borrowed Scootaloo's for ya'. What Ah' meant was a toothbrush or maybe yer favorite pillow or somethin' like that."

"Wait, did you say Scootaloo's? She's lending her sleeping bag to _me_?"

Apple Bloom smiled uncomfortably. "No, not exactly. Ah' told her it was for Twist here."

The mentioned filly just kept looking like she had the time of her life.

Silver Spoon grinned. "So much for never telling lies. But thanks anyways."

"So, can we go?" Apple Bloom's voice was back to her usual state of over-excitement. For a change, it didn't disturb Silver Spoon.

However, as eager as Apple Bloom was to get going, Silver Spoon wasn't finished, so she shook her head.

"Why not?"

"First I'd like to know how you know those candy apples came from me. Did Fluttershy tell you after all?"

"Well, no, not exactly. She said she wanted to surprise us, but she's a terrible liar. And Ah' saw ya' when ya' tried to hide behind that corner."

"Oh…" was everything Silver Spoon was able to say.

"And when Twist told me today ya' were here yesterday, Ah' knew where those candy apples came from."

Silver Spoon nodded. This had answered the first of the two questions she had. She turned to Twist. "Okay, speaking of you. How do you know I'm here that often?"

"Becauthe I thee you here more often than any other filly," Twist answered happily, making Silver Spoon wonder if this unnatural kind of joy was maybe some strange disease spreading among Apple Bloom and her friends.

Brushing this thought aside she asked: "But doesn't that mean you're here all the time, too?"

For the first time since Silver Spoon ran into them Twist lost her smile. "Yeth, I am. Or at leatht, motht of the time. Ever thinth' I have my cutie mark. Bon Bon ith tho nithe to give me thome advithe and let'th me help her in the shop."

"Really? I never noticed…"

"You even ran into me yethterday." It was no accusation, yet Twist's bewilderment was painfully obvious for Silver Spoon.

"Oh, sorry about that, but I wasn't really paying attention at that moment." Mumbled Silver Spoon, knowing perfectly well that that wasn't what Twist meant.

"Have you really never notithed me? I thaw you tho many timeth."

"Um, no… Er, sorry?" Silver Spoon tried to smile sheepishly. She had no idea if she pulled it off. The other filly just stared blankly at her in an awkward silence.

However, Apple Bloom came to Silver Spoons rescue. "Okay, now that that's settled, let's go and pick up your stuff."

"We can't." Silver Spoon pointed towards Bon Bon's shop. "I still don't have what I came here for."

"Oh, right," Apple Bloom laughed.

Bon Bon's surprise had been obvious, but in the end, she didn't say anything – much to Silver Spoon's relief. She only gave her an encouraging nod when she made her purchase. A gesture which was answered with a thankful smile. After that they parted with Twist who stayed at the shop.

On the way over to Silver Spoon's home they talked about camping. Silver Spoon wanted to know any detail she could think of. If they really had to sleep on the ground, if it would get cold, if campfire-marshmallows tasted different than the ones roasted over a stove, if they would have to deal with lots of bugs and many other things. But right when she was about to ask how they would shower themselves out in the garden, Apple Bloom fell speechless while her eyes widened in amazement. They had arrived at the mansion.

Or rather, they had arrived at the gate from where they had an excellent view over the whole estate. A road of orderly raked yellow gravel, flanked by colorful and neatly arranged flowerbeds led up to the mansion itself. It was a two story building with a sparkling white facade and a red roof. The upper floor had a total of four balconies, each between every other window. To the left side of the road and the house were more flowerbeds forming a little private park, to the right was a fresh green lawn, which looked almost ordinary compared to rest of its surrounding. Nonetheless a gardener dutifully fulfilled his job of keeping it in shape.

"This is where ya' live?" Apple Bloom asked in awed surprise.

"Yes, why else should I have led you here?"

"It's just that Ah' had always wondered who lived here. Not just me, ma' friends too. To us it had always been 'that huge piece of land with the large hedge around it on the other end of Ponyville.' Sometimes we even wondered if anypony lived here at all, because all we could see at best through the gate was a gardener."

"Well, now you know the answer. It's my family who lives here."

"Only your family?" Apple Bloom's eyes still wandered from one end of the mansion to the other as they walked up to its front gate.

"Just mine. And our head-butler. Who else should live here?"

"I don't know, it's just so huge. I think we could hold our family reunion here, give everypony her own room and there would still be some left free. Why would any family need this much space?"

Silver Spoon felt herself blushing. For the first time in her life someone had actually managed to make her feel embarrassed about her family's home. She tried her hardest not to let it show when she said: "Come on, it's not that big. And your family has even more land than mine."

"Sure, we need that as farmland. But our house could fit at least two or three-"

"Welcome home, Lady Silver Spoon."

The butler's dry and polite greeting interrupted their conversation when they had arrived at the front gate. Silver Spoon noticed that he spoke only to her and gave Apple Bloom nothing more than a short gesture to let her know he acknowledged her presence. Hoping Apple Bloom was still too distracted by the mansion to notice the dismissive look he gave the unexpected guest, she thanked the butler and told him his service wasn't needed at the moment. With a last depreciative gaze at Apple Bloom, he nodded and stepped aside

The house was pleasantly cool as always during the summer. According to the faint scent the marble floor in the entrance hall had been wiped not too long ago. Silver Spoon led Apple Bloom upstairs, where heavy carpets swallowed every sound their hooves could have made.

All the way to her room Silver Spoon watched Apple Bloom's still growing awe in both amusement and wariness. This was the way she liked to impress her. After all, showing off was in her nature. But on the other hand, she didn't want to alienate her newfound friend before she was even sure if she really could call Apple Bloom her friend. She felt nervous when she opened the door to her room. Would Apple Bloom be jealous? Or excited? Or would she-

"Oh, welcome back, Miss Silver Spoon. We didn't expect you to come home before evening."

A maid interrupted her thoughts. She sounded a bit startled but still managed to stay calm and composed. Obviously she was just about to make the bed, as she stood beside it and still held one of Silver Spoon's stuffed animals in her hoof. Silver Spoon was thankful for this. Having a maid to order around gave her new confidence. This was a routine for her, well practiced ever since she was able to talk.

"I was to, but my plans for the day have changed. Don't let your work be interrupted. I just need a few things and then I am on my way again. And talking about the evening, I won't be back then. In fact, I will stay out with my friend."

"Your… friend?" the maid asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought Miss Diamond Tiara was…"

Her voice trailed off when Silver Spoon stepped aside to let Apple Bloom into the room.

"I have more than one friend." In her words lay way more indignation than she had intended. And Silver Spoon wasn't even sure if she wanted to point that out to the maid or Apple Bloom. Or herself.

"Of course, I'm sorry, Miss," the maid responded promptly with a graceful bow. "But what do you mean; you will be staying out all night?"

Silver Spoon cleared her throat. Mostly to earn some time for getting the embarrassment out of her voice. "We're going camping for the night. So I need my toothbrush, a pillow, and Mr. Snuffles."

"Mr. Snuffles?" the maid asked.

"The plush bunny you're holding right now."

"Mr. Snuffles?" Apple Bloom giggled.

But before Silver Spoon could react in any other way than feeling her face getting hot, the maid spoke again: "Miss Silver Spoon, I'm sorry, but I am very sure your parents wouldn't allow you to-"

"If they don't want me to stay away from home all night, they can tell me by themselves," Silver Spoon cut off the maid. "So unless they unexpectedly come back from their vacation right now, I'll be off in a few minutes."

She walked over to the maid whose face still spoke of an inner fight with herself over if she should say something about this or not. But when the stuffed bunny was taken from her hoof, it seemed like any confidence she had to talk up to her employer's daughter was taken with it. She shot a troubled look back over her shoulder at the youngest filly of the house as she walked over to the other side of the room. There she started to dust of a wide shelf filled with a vast amount of unread books.

Silver Spoon made as much haste as possible to get her things packed while not looking nervous or panicking. The butler's attitude and this maid's words made her want to get out of the house as fast as possible. She wasn't afraid that they would actually hold her back if she really wanted to go. But she didn't want Apple Bloom to witness any more of that. In that mood she stuffed everything she might need into her saddlebags and then they made their escape.

Out of the reach of any house personnel, just behind the gates Apple Bloom wanted to know again: "Ya' really have a plush bunny named Mr. Snuffles?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Silver Spoon asked nervously.

"Nothin', it just seemed so odd. Ah' can't imagin' ya' cuddled up with that doll. Or any other."

This answer didn't really help Silver Spoon. On the contrary, it only added to her uncomfortable state. "Um, why not?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah' don't know. Ah' guess it didn't fit the image Ah' had of ya' in ma' mind."

Her words started to turn Silver Spoon's nervousness into anxiety. "And what kind of image is that?"

"Ah' don't know if Ah' should tell ya'…"

Despite her doubts if she wanted to hear it, Silver Spoon knew deep inside her heart she would have to face the answer to her question sooner or later. And sooner seemed the better option to her, considering what else they would probably have to talk about. She put as much cheerfulness as was possible for her into her next words. "It's okay, really."

Apple Bloom gave her a quick, thoughtful glance. Then, with a nod and an understanding smile, she said: "Okay, but let me say again, that's what I used to think. As in 'not thinking it anymore', okay? Up until now, Ah' never imagined ya' havin' a nice side. Don't get me wrong, Ah' know ya' do. But before, thinkin' of ya' meant rememberin' ya' bein' mean to me. Somehow in my head Ah' always saw ya' with that nasty smile, planning what ya' could do next to get on ma' nerves. That just doesn't fit with ya' quietly sleepin' while holdin' a bunny in yer arms."

Silver Spoon fell silent. Even though she had asked Apple Bloom to tell her this, even though she had expected everything she had said it had hit the grey little filly pretty hard.

"Hey, everythin' okay? Did Ah' go too far? Honestly, that's _not_ how Ah' think of ya' now."

Apple Bloom's concerned voice woke Silver Spoon up from her state of distraction. She looked around. Those words came from behind her. Apple Bloom had stopped and fell a few feet behind.

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, you didn't go too far. I did. That is something_ I _know now. In fact, I guess I knew that since I made you… well since… since what happened three days ago. But hearing this, how you really thought of me. It hurt me. But not because I'm insulted. It's because it just made me realize that I must have been really horrible to you. That's not how I want to be thought of by anypony. And before we start our camping night, I want you to know that I am sorry. Not just for what I said three days ago but for everything that has happened between us."

She looked directly into Apple Bloom's eyes. For a moment they widened in disbelief. But not in shock, it was a pleasant kind of disbelief, like when somepony gets an unexpected present. The next moment these eyes completed a smile that spread over her face.

She said happily: "Apology accepted!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Silver Spoon had felt so relieved she had almost skipped along the rest of the way to Fluttershy's cottage. The short exchange had taken a lot of weight from her shoulders. This didn't mean there would be nothing they had to talk about, but all that could wait until later. For now she was happy and excited.

Fluttershy greeted them with a friendly smile while Angel just glared at Silver Spoon. The two fillies greeted her back and walked around the house. Silver Spoon kept looking back at Angel as long as it was possible for her. The bunny's eyes were locked on her.

"What is up with this bunny?"

"Angel? What about him?"

"I don't know, he just seems to hate me."

"Nah, Ah' don't think so. He wasn't too fond of me and ma' friends at first but after we had spent a night here he completely turned around. Once he gets used to ya', he's a real nice little thing."

"If you say so."

Silver Spoon couldn't keep her tone free of skepticism. She wanted to believe Apple Bloom but that bunny hadn't shown even the littlest bit of sympathy for her in any way so far. She was thankful that a distraction from the small animal was right at hoof.

As soon as they had dropped their saddlebags Apple Bloom started to show Silver Spoon what they needed to do before they could really start their camping night.

The first thing was setting up the tent. Silver Spoon would have never imagined how many small steps were necessary to build something that was basically a few poles with a tarp. But soon she got the hang of it, obviously much to Apple Bloom's surprise. Silver Spoon felt pride spreading inside her chest when her new friend told her that neither she nor her friends were able to handle it this quickly.

After the tent was ready they had to look for firewood to set up a camp fire. Silver Spoon had a much harder time with this task. Not so much with figuring out what kind of branches were suitable for a camp fire. To her, walking around and carrying all the wood along was boring and tiresome. And a few times Apple Bloom led the two of them a bit too close to the Everfree Forest for her taste.

When Silver Spoon had finally learned how to start a fire without a match or a lighter the sun had already started to turn the horizon into a bright orange-red shade. As the fire grew and the wood crackled, Silver Spoon felt the satisfying glow of accomplishment. For a moment she sat down and looked happily at the campfire she had set up.

"We're not done yet."

Apple Blooms voice cut into her thoughts.

"There's still more?"

"A whole lot. Next thing is this." The red maned filly smiled as she pulled a bag of marshmallows from her saddlebags.

Silver Spoon grinned. "I think I can handle this task."

She knew it wasn't anything special, but nonetheless she observed the slowly roasting marshmallow with fascination. Sure, she had eaten marshmallows before, but only those already done and served by the house staff. Watching them turn brown accompanied by the crackles of burning wood was more fascinating and – more importantly – fun than she would have been able to imagine or admit.

It was only when she was about to eat her hoof-roasted snack that she realized how joyful she must have looked. It was the first time she looked away from the fire since she had put her marshmallows on a stick. Now she saw Apple Bloom's amused expression. Silver Spoon felt herself blushing and quickly turned her gaze back towards the fire.

"This is more fun than I expected," she mumbled, then blushed even more.

"Ah' can see that." Apple Bloom's response was cheerful, without any trace of malice. There it was again, that sickening kindness of hers. Silver Spoon sighed, but never lost her smile.

"Now I know," she told Apple bloom, still looking into the flames.

"That's good. What do ya' know now?"

"I know why." She turned her head, so her eyes met Apple Bloom's again. "Why I wanted to do this and why I didn't want to do this. Why I always hated you and your friends so much."

She paused for a brief moment, waiting for some kind of response from Apple Bloom. But the farm filly sat silent, with an expectant look in her eyes.

"You always were so cheerful and happy. Not just you on your own, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle too. Whatever happened, whatever you did, everything seemed to be a big fun party. Even if it was the simplest of things, you enjoyed it. I never understood why. My family is rich. I have everything. And if I don't have it, my parents will buy it for me. I always thought that means we should be the happy ones. But then I see your little trio. And all the other fillies in our class. All of you are always happy. And nopony at school ever cared about my family's money. Or our house. Or any of my expensive toys nopony else has. They always ignored what made me…"

She choked on her words. Something inside of her was holding them back with an iron claw. As she struggled to free them, Apple Bloom finished the last sentence for her: "What made ya' better than them?"

"Yes, that's what I used to think." Silver Spoon looked at the ground flickering in the light of the campfire. She was afraid to see resent or anger in Apple Bloom's eyes if she looked up. And that she could start crying any moment, as she already felt tears of shame rising behind her eyes.

"Ya' used to? So, ya' don't anymore?"

The lack of any form of indignation in Apple Bloom's voice gave Silver Spoon the much needed reassurance to go on. "No, I don't. I'm not even sure if I was really convinced of that for a long time now. I guess at some point I started clinging to this thought just to make me feel better. I was hated for what I was sure to be admired for. If it hadn't been for Diamond Tiara, I wouldn't have had any friends. And I think it was the same for her. And still is. In the end we convinced each other that we actually were better and all of you were just too stupid and low-class to see that. We built a friendship over what made us outsiders."

"Yeah, Ah' can relate to that," she heard Apple Bloom sighing. That made her risk lifting her view again. Apple Bloom wasn't looking at Silver Spoon, she looked at her own flank. A new wave of shame overcame Silver Spoon and she started talking to the ground again.

"Yeah, that… I'm sorry about whatever I have said. It was just that… that… Out of everypony in our class you were always the worst to me."

Again she waited for Apple Bloom to say something but she heard only silence. She peeked up cautiously. Apple Bloom's expression was hard to read for her. It looked like the yellow filly tried to figure out if she was surprised by that statement or not.

Silver Spoon lowered her eyes again and went on: "Please don't be angry at me for saying this, but from the first day in school you were just some farm filly from a poor farm family to me. You had nothing and were supposed to admire me, be jealous of me. But instead you were happy. You dared to be cheerful even though you didn't have anything. At least, that's what I imagined your life to be. And somehow you still are somewhere in my mind. I just can't help it. Whenever I try to imagine you at home, I see you and your family in a moldering little hut, built somewhere inside a huge, dark forest of apple trees."

"Then why don't ya' come over to our farm some time and see what it really looks like? Ah'm sure when Ah' ask Applejack ya' can even stay for dinner."

Apple Bloom's question scrambled Silver Spoon's thoughts within a second. She looked disbelievingly at the smiling face in front of her. Silver Spoon couldn't help herself, she just grinned and shook her head.

"Ya' don't want to?" Apple Bloom asked crestfallen.

Now Silver Spoon started to laugh. "You're insufferable."

When she saw Apple Bloom getting more worried by the moment she added: "I really don't know how you do this. I just told you all that and your first and only reaction is inviting me over for dinner."

Apple Bloom still didn't say anything. Silver Spoon wiped some tears from her eyes. "Don't worry, I do want to see your farm and if it's okay, have dinner with your family."

"Great!" Much relief carried in Apple Bloom's voice. "That's settled then. Now Ah'd like to know, what did all that have to do with me bein' a… Ah' mean, havin' no cutie mark?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "Right, I was getting to that. Cutie marks seemed to be the only thing you were actually getting jealous about. That wasn't hard to make out. The more of our class-mates got one the more anxious you became. Finally I really had something you wanted. And as much as I don't want to admit it now, I loved that feeling. Taunting you about it became something like a hobby for me. Even more since Diamond Tiara was terrified you might actually get your cutie mark before she got hers."

"Ah' think Ah' see what ya' mean. But Ah' still don't get what ya' said about me bein' the worst of all in our class. What did ya' mean by that?"

"Well, like I said, you were exactly that kind of filly I always imagined to admire me for all that I have. And you just dared not doing that. And not only that, you somehow managed to be happier than me even though you were that poor."

Silver Spoon paused briefly. She knew she would have to elaborate on the next point when she had brought up this topic. Nonetheless it was hard to put the following into words. Despite her resolve to be completely honest with Apple Bloom this one thing was more about being honest with herself than anything she had told the filly next to her so far. She mustered all her strength and added:

"But on top of all that, it's your sister."

"Ma' sister?" Apple Bloom sounded confused and shocked at the same time. "What does she have to do with this? Did she ever do anythin' to ya? Have ya' ever even met her?"

Again, it took Silver Spoon a few seconds to bring herself to keep talking.

"No, I never met her, at least in a way that I talked to her or something like that. I only saw her a few times, like when she picked you up from school or at the cute-ceañera. And she never did or said anything to me. That's not it. It's just that you get along so well with her. Whenever you're together you're so nice to each other. You always seem so happy when you're with her. And when she's not around, every other thing I hear from you is 'Applejack this' and 'ma' sister that'. Like she was some saint or something like that."

"But why'd that bother ya' so much?" Apple Bloom inquired. Once more Silver Spoon wondered how that filly was able to stay this calm. Yes, she sounded confused but still, there was no trace of anger in her demeanor. But as comforting as this fact was, it didn't keep the last of the short flare of joy Silver Spoon had moments ago from vanishing. She fought hard to ignore the sudden lump in her throat.

With a shaking voice she forced out the answer: "Because it made me jealous. I always wished my sister was as awesome as yours."

Silver Spoon could see in Apple Bloom's eyes how her mind was working on what had just been said. They looked right through her, as if the red maned filly had completely forgotten her company. Then, an endless moment later, the same eyes widened.

"Ya' have a sister?" Apple Bloom was yelling in shock, much to Silver Spoon's bewilderment. She had expected this kind of reaction many times this day, but not to this. That end of her confession was the rather unimportant one to her.

She blinked a few times while she tried to think of something to respond to that exclamation. But all she could come up with was: "Um, yeah?"

Silver Spoon waited for Apple Bloom to say something. But when she only kept looking dumbfounded at the grey filly, Silver Spoon tilted her head.

"Apple Bloom?"

When she heard her name the yellow coated filly snapped out of whatever state she was in. Silver Spoon couldn't make out if it was shock, astonishment or something in between. Or maybe something completely different. Whatever it had been, now she obviously realized her unusual behavior as the color of her face started to match the color of her mane.

"Oh, Ah'm… Ah' mean…" she stuttered, "It's just that, well..."

Silver Spoon raised a hoof to silence Apple Bloom. "Look, whatever it is, just say it. After everything I said to you not just today but ever since we're in the same class, it will be alright."

Apple Bloom took a deep breath and nodded. With an apologetic smile she said: "Ah' know it's silly. It's just that Ah' always imagined ya' to be an only child. No, not just imagined. Ah' was convinced that ya' were. Ah' _knew_ ya' were. In ma' imagination, a rich, spoiled kid just has to be an only child. Ah' don't even know why…"

Silver Spoon couldn't believe what she heard. The implied insults didn't even bother her one bit. The whole idea that had been spread out by Apple Bloom sounded so silly. Why in the world should the number of one's siblings be important for how they turn out to be?

An eyebrow raised in puzzlement she asked: "That's why you freak out like that?"

Apple Bloom scratched her chin, obviously entranced in her own thoughts. "Ah' don't know. It's just that a bigger sister is somepony ya' look up to, who helps ya' to be a better pony. In ma' opinion it's impossible to have a bigger sister and become somepony like ya'." As soon as she had finished this explanation her eyes widened. She gave Silver Spoon a look as if she had forgotten the other filly was still there. Hastily she added: "Ah' mean, like ya' were."

"I wish you were right. My sister isn't anything like that. She always makes fun of me. She always finds something to tease me with. The nicest thing she ever did for me was naming my bunny."

"Yer bunny? Ya' mean that stuffed bunny?"

"Yes. I got it from my father when I had a terrible cold." Silver Spoon stuck the marshmallow holding branch she still had in her hooves into the ground and started rummaging her saddlebags. "And when my sister brought me some hot soup that day, she saw it. She wanted to know what its name was, but I hadn't thought of one. Then she said 'Mr. Snuffles' would be a good name. And I liked it, so my bunny got its name."

"Really?" Apple Bloom's voice was pure disbelief. "That's the nicest thing she ever did for you?

Finally Silver Spoon had found the stuffed animal they were talking about. She held it in front of her face. In the gleaming flicker of the camp fire its eyes looked like they were alive, filled with sadness and sympathy.

"As far as I can remember, yes. It's so strange, even I know that. But that day was one of the happiest days I can think of. Even if I was sick. Everypony were so nice to me. Everypony took care of me. Even my sister."

A warm feeling spread inside her chest, like she was happy but at the time she wasn't. It was more like a physical memory of being happy. A kind of joy she was missing more than anything.

"And that's why Mr. Snuffles is so important me. As long as I have him he will remind me that my sister is actually a nice pony and give me hope that she'll be as nice to me as she was then someday again. Not just she, everypony."

Once more, silence fell between them. Silver Spoon held Mr. Snuffles to her chest and closed her eyes. In that moment, with the crackling, warm fire right next to her, some birds calling out to each other for their evening gathering, small animals rustling in the grass all around her, and the – sometimes annoying, sometimes soothing – chirping of crickets, Silver Spoon was finally able to voice a question that was burning in her soul for a long time:

"Why am I so lonely?"

She heard Apple Bloom move, then she felt the filly's arms around her shoulders. For the second time in two days she realized how soothing the warmth of another pony's hug was.

"Yer not," Apple Bloom said quietly, almost whispering into her ear. "Not anymore. Diamond Tiara is still yer friend. Ah' know Cheerilee will always be there for us. That Bon Bon seems to really like ya'. Ah'm sure ya' sister will be as nice to you as she was eventually. And don't forget about yer parents still being there." Silver Spoon wasn't sure but she thought she heard a slight tremble in Apple Bloom's voice. She was amazed how much sympathy that filly was able to bring up for her after all. "And if it count's fer anythin', now ya'll have me as a friend."

"No, it doesn't count for anything. It counts for everything. You have no idea how much this means to me, that you're able to say this."

For a few seconds she savored the embrace, then slowly pulled away from Apple Bloom to look her into the eyes. Even though she felt tears slowly running down her cheeks she managed to smile at her.

"I still have no idea how and why, but I don't care anymore. What matters to me right now is just that you feel that way."

"Ya' just wait and see." Apple Bloom smiled, still one hoof on her shoulder. "When Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are back, ya'll have two more friends."

"Are you sure? Maybe Sweetie Belle, but Scootaloo hates me…"

"No, she doesn't hate ya'. Ah' know it looks that way but trust me, she doesn't. And it isn't so much ya' she has problems with. Not that big problems that is. It's Diamond Tiara. She has never really gotten over what happened at the school newspapers. Ah' don't know what Diamond Tiara told you about that time…"

They had never talked much about her actual work at the newspapers. Mostly because Silver Spoon wasn't interested in such things. She had taken a few looks at the newspapers her father kept reading and they were boring. The books she had were far more entertaining. But Diamond Tiara had told her how she had to leave the newspaper. She had been furious, foaming about Apple Bloom and her friends. And that was all Silver Spoon could really remember about this topic.

"Well, she told me she had to quit as the chief editor because you three… what was it she called it… saberstashed her."

Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow. "We did what?"

"You know, worked against her. You tried to make her look bad."

"Really? That's how she sees it?" Apple Bloom laughed disbelievingly. "Did she ever say what it exactly was that we did?"

Silver Spoon tried to remember. But that question had never been brought up. Her friend had just kept on rambling about how unfair she had been treated and Silver Spoon had just accepted it.

"No, not really. She just said it was your fault Cheerilee replaced her as chief editor with Featherweight."

"Did she also tell ya' that she blackmailed us into writin' horrible things about each and everypony? That she would print really embarrassin' stuff about ma' friends and me when we wanted to quit?"

"She'd never do that!" Silver Spoon exclaimed in shock. She didn't want to believe her friend could do something so terrible. Unquestionably, what they both had done in the past was mean-spirited, but neither of them would have ever done more than make fun of Apple Bloom's little group.

"Ah'm really sorry and I know ya' don't want to believe me, but it's true," Apple Bloom replied with an apologetic look. "Ah' know we started that whole Gabby Gums mess ourselves but it was her who forced us to write more when we wanted to stop it."

"What mess? Who is Gabby Gums?"

"Our pen name we made up to write all those articles. Haven't you read them?"

"No, I don't read newspapers. It's too boring."

"Okay… Well, we wrote about all those embarrassin' things nopony wants anypony to know about. And everypony loved it. Everypony except those who we wrote about, as ya' can imagine. When we noticed how upset those ponies got, we wanted to quit but like Ah' said, Diamond Tiara blackmailed us and we had to go on. Until we told everypony who we were and that we were sorry. That's when Cheerilee made Featherweight the new editor in chief.

"And this whole blackmail thing Diamond Tiara pulled off is the reason why Scootaloo really hates her now. I mean, she never liked her to begin with but before that, Diamond Tiara just annoyed her. Since then…"

Silver Spoon interrupted her: "Okay, let's say this is true, which I still can't believe. What did Diamond Tiara know about you that she could use to blackmail you?"

"She had some photos of us on which we could be seen in some stupid situations. Well, the ones of Sweetie Belle and me weren't that bad to be honest but still very embarrassin'. The one of Scootaloo on the other hoof was terrible."

"What was it?" Silver Spoon wanted to know, but Apple Bloom shook her head.

"Please understand that Ah' can't tell ya'. She would never forgive me if Ah' did. All Ah' can say is that it showed somethin' she's really sensitive about. Somethin' she has a hard time talkin' about even to us, her friends. If it was to be made public in a newspaper, Ah' don't know what she would do."

"And what does all of that have to do with me?"

"Honestly, nothin'. But that's ma' opinion. Scootaloo on the other hand somehow sees ya' and Diamond Tiara as the same filly, Ah' think. To her it doesn't matter who of ya' is responsible for what, she'll just blame both of ya' for it."

Silver Spoon wanted to say '_But that's not fair, blaming me for something I'm not responsible for.'_ But before she had opened her mouth a little voice inside her soul that sounded strangely like Bon Bon asked _'Isn't that like making fun of somepony because of something they aren't responsible for? Like having no cutie mark?'_ So instead she asked:

"Do you think I can ever change her mind?"

Apple Bloom smiled. "Ah' know ya' can. _We_ can. Ya'll just need to be patient with her. She's a very loyal and caring friend, that's why she was so furious after what happened between ya' and me. Ah' think she still is angrier about all that than I was at the time it happened. But believe me, once she gets to know ya' she'll be the best friend ya' could ever wish for."

"If I'll ever get the chance to get her to know me…" Silver Spoon mumbled.

"Don't worry, Ah'll help ya' with that. As long as ya' don't give up, she'll come around eventually. Trust me."

On one hand Silver Spoon wanted to trust her. On the other hand she still had her doubts. Scootaloo always seemed so thickheaded and in some way, aggressive. But before she could finish her thoughts Apple Bloom all of a sudden changed the topic:

"Just wanted to warn ya', Fluttershy is comin' over."

"Huh? Why would you need to warn me about that?" asked Silver Spoon and turned around. She was right, Fluttershy was on her way over to them, carrying a tray with drinks.

"Don't want ya' to get startled by her. It would upset her too much," Apple Bloom chuckled.

Even though Silver Spoon had met their host only once she had a good idea what Apple Bloom meant. After what she had witnessed yesterday she could see the pegasus raveling in self-reproach just because someone had to live through half a second of minor shock because of her. Thanks to Apple Bloom's effort Fluttershy was spared such feelings and delivered the self-made lemonade with her usual warm smile. After she had set down the tray in the grass she sat down right next to it.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you?"

They shook their heads. Even if she had, Silver Spoon would have never been able to tell her so. Whatever it was, something in her eyes just made it impossible for the little filly to say anything that might upset or even oppose her. And on top of that Silver Spoon wouldn't want her to lose that mind-soothing expression.

"Good, I really wanted to take this chance and tell you how happy I am you are finally able to get along so well. And that, if you all want to, you can come here for another camping night together with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo when they are back."

"Thanks, we'll do that, Fluttershy," Apple Bloom responded before Silver Spoon had a chance to say anything.

"Okay, then just one more thing and I will leave you alone. Is there anything special you want for breakfast tomorrow?"

This question took Silver Spoon by surprise. She looked back and forth between Fluttershy and Apple Bloom. The former still kept smiling like a grandmother – a very young grandmother – who wanted to give her favorite grand-child an extra special present. The latter looked expectantly at Silver Spoon. She blinked a few times. It was the first time she had been asked what she wanted to eat. Up until now it had always been the duty of her house's chef to decide what would be served. Even when they went out to eat in a restaurant it were her parents who decided what menu was to be ordered.

"Er… I guess whatever you make will be fine…" Silver Spoon managed to say, only to be cut off by Apple Bloom's excited shout:

"Let's have pancakes!"

Fluttershy hesitated for a brief moment. Then she asked Silver Spoon: "Is that okay for you?"

"Yeah, sure." Silver Spoon nodded, not really convinced herself.

"Fine." Fluttershy smiled like somepony had given her a wonderful gift. "I'll then be inside if you need anything. Have fun you two, but please, don't stay up too late."

With that she turned around and went back to her house.

As soon as she was out of sight Silver Spoon asked: "Pancakes for breakfast? Really?"

"Of course, there's nothin' better than hot pancakes with lots and lots of syrup in the mornin'. Ya' never tried that before?"

"No, and I have never thought about it. Our kitchen staff is responsible for preparing any food. Nopony has ever asked me what I wanted."

"Really? Not even for yer birthday?" Apple Bloom asked skeptically.

"No, but our chef always knew what I liked best somehow."

Still, Apple Bloom didn't look convinced. She wasn't shocked like before, but her look told clearly that she couldn't quite process what she had been told.

"What's wrong?" Silver Spoon wanted to know.

The answer came hesitantly. "The whole thought just feels strange to me. Having somepony cook ma' meals for me?"

"What, you cook your meals yourself?"

"Yes, of course," Apple Bloom said. Then a wave of realization went over her face. "Well, not Ah' maself, Applejack won't let me come near the oven since Ah' tried to get a cutie mark in cookin'. But she or ma' brother do the cooking, sometimes even Granny Smith will do it. But Ah' would never imagine somepony else, somepony not from our family doin' the cookin' for us. That would just feel… wrong."

"Wrong? Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" Silver Spoon did not even have to try to keep her tone free from any accusation. She was too curious to find out how Apple Bloom saw her and her way of life by now.

"No, of course not. Ah'm sorry, wrong might have been the, well, wrong word. It's just that it's so different from what Ah'm used to, Ah' just can't imagine maself living like that. Ah' guess it's the same the other way 'round, ain't it?"

"Yeah, I think so. I never quite got how other fillies could stand having to tidy up their own rooms. The only times I have to do that is as a punishment."

Apple Bloom stared at her for a moment. Then she started to laugh. "Okay, ya' got me. That _is_ something I'd like somepony else to do for me."

"Really? So you don't like cleaning your home yourself?" Silver Spoon asked in sincere surprise. She wasn't trying to mock Apple Bloom or make fun of her in any way.

"Of course not," was the amused answer. "Who does?"

"I don't know, it's just that so many ponies do it. It's just that I always thought…" Silver Spoon's voice trailed off. Too late she realized that once again, she was going to say something she better shouldn't.

Unfortunately she couldn't make Apple Bloom unhear what had already left her mouth so it was to no surprise that the red maned filly asked: "Thought what?"

"That poor ponies were just that…" She paused again, still not knowing how to end this sentence best. Or at least, as inoffensive as possible. All she could come up with was: "…strange."

This earned her the skeptical look she had already expected. She tried to explain: "Yes, I know they can't pay somepony to do those things for them. But then again, I don't know how they can stand doing it all on their own. It's so boring and tiring."

"They don't exactly have a choice if they want to have a clean home. Ah' guess it's not that hard to live with when yer used to it."

This wasn't the snappy or sharp retort Silver Spoon had anticipated. Yet again, Apple Bloom had managed to laugh off a topic Silver Spoon had already deemed to be a mood killer. This gave her the confidence to say something she wanted to bring up for some time now: "Being poor seems to take a lot to get used to…"

"Of course it does. But, could ya' do me a favor? Please stop callin' anypony who can't hire somepony to do their housework for them _poor_. That sounds like they can barely feed themselves."

Even though Apple Bloom still kept a neutral tone Silver Spoon was surprised by this statement.

"Huh? I thought that's what those ponies were called. At least my sister and mother do so. Is it really such a bad word?"

"I wouldn't say bad, no," Apple Bloom shook her head. "But inappropriate. I guess most ponies would get offended if ya'd call them poor just because they're not as rich as yerself."

"That might explain… a lot."

"Guess so," Apple Bloom responded once again with an air of joy that felt almost unnatural to Silver Spoon. "But don't ya' dare getting' all depressed over it again. Ah' told ya' before and Ah' tell ya' again, Ah'm not mad at ya' for anythin' anymore."

Silver Spoon gave a weak smile. As much as she wanted to adhere this advice there were still many fears tugging at her mind. "Yes, _you_ aren't. But what about all the others? Not just Scootaloo, I mean all of them. Will they even give me a chance?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes but kept her encouraging smile. "Of course they will. Ah' did and if Ah' can do it, they can too."

"And that's what I'm afraid of. I told you before, you are unbelievably nice and forgiving. And somehow you made me see things a lot differently within just a few days. Even so much that I still don't know how you were able to give me a chance in the first place. Even go so far and inviting me to go camping."

"Ah' guess most of that honor goes to Fluttershy. If it hadn't been for her convincin' me of givin' ya' another chance or rather one real chance at all, Ah' now would hate ya' more than ever. But she really has a way of makin' ya' see things from another point of view."

"So maybe we should ask Fluttershy to invite all of our classmates over for some tea?"

Apple Bloom chuckled. "Maybe, if everything else fails. But seriously, stop worryin' about that now. We'll find a way to let them see yer not who they think ya' were. But there's somethin' else ya' should worry about for now."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Silver Spoon asked. She twisted her mind but couldn't think of anything Apple Bloom might be referring to. She gave the yellow filly a helpless, questioning look, who in return chuckled even more and pointed at the branch still sticking in the ground besides Silver Spoon. She took a closer look at it. There was still a long forgotten marshmallow pinned on top of it.

"Guess it's cold by now, but ya' can still eat it."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Apple Bloom was right. The marshmallow was cold. And yet, it tasted better than any other Silver Spoon has had before. She chewed happily on the fluffy lump of sweetness while already placing another one in the fire. Like the first, she watched this taking on a nice brown color, not unlike a freshly roasted slice of toast. And like the first time, as she watched this process she felt happy. But unlike the first time, this wasn't over the expectation of what was still to come and thankfulness for the opportunity given so unexpectedly to her. This time it was the joy starting to fill in the gaps left behind by the worries and sorrows this evening had lifted from her soul.

This next marshmallow, this time still warm, tasted even better. Her parents had always made sure their family would only get the best food available and had made a big point of letting every guest they ever had for dinner know how 'exquisite' everything was that had been served to them. But as far as it concerned Silver Spoon for now, this little white thing turned brown was the best food she ever tasted in her life.

Looking up at Apple Bloom she saw her new friend was just as happy as Silver Spoon felt. She couldn't help but smile and say: "Thank you. For this chance. For wanting to help me. And for listening to me."

Apple Bloom had already opened her mouth, but Silver Spoon wasn't finished.

"No, don't tell me I don't need to thank you. Maybe you don't need me saying it, but I do. I want to thank you. And I wanted to let you know I'm really looking forward to see what your friends will say about this."

"Actually, me too."

Silver Spoon was surprised at how thoughtful Apple Bloom sounded.

"What, I thought you were so sure they will accept me?"

"Yeah, ma' friends will. Eventually. But what about yer friend?"

"You mean Diamond Tiara?"

She knew the answer before she had even spoken the name. She even had said friend. In the singular. Of course she meant her only friend. Her only _other_ friend. And she had a point.

"I don't know. I want to say she will accept you as a friend, too. I'm sure deep inside her heart she feels just as lonely as I did. All I can tell you is what you told me. Give her time and let her get to know you. I can't see why she wouldn't want you as a friend then."

"Ah' sure hope so. Ah'm still so excited that Fluttershy was right and yer really as nice as she said ya'd be. If Diamond Tiara would come around too, it would be awesome."

Silver Spoon smiled. "I know I'm not exactly in a position to say this. But let's not talk about that for now. You've just convinced me we shouldn't worry about these things at this time. Let's just have a fun evening, okay?"

Now Apple Bloom's smile was back as well. "Yeah, yer right. Maybe we should move on to another camping tradition."

"And that would be?" Silver Spoon asked curiously.

Apple Bloom's mouth widened into a grin. Excitedly, she said: "Storytelling!"

"Nice, I like stories. But, what kind of stories are we talking about?"

Apple Bloom scratched her chin. "Hm, normally scary ones. Or exciting ones. But maybe we should use this to get to know each other a little better. Why don't we tell stories about ourselves in turn?"

It didn't take long for Silver Spoon to consider this suggestion. "Okay, but maybe you should go first. From all I heard about and saw from you, your life is way more exciting than mine. And I'm really curious to hear what you were talking about when you said Fluttershy could take on a real dragon."

For a moment Silver Spoon had the feeling Apple Bloom was going to disagree. There was a hint of disappointed surprise in her amber eyes, like this wasn't exactly what she had had in mind. Something told Silver Spoon that the red maned filly would have rather wanted to hear a story than tell one.

"Ah' guess ya' mean that story with the cockathingy Ah' mentioned?"

"Yes, that one. But if you don't want to go first, I can do it."

"No, it's okay. It was ma' idea, so Ah'll tell the first story. So, Ah' told ya' already, we had a sleepover here before, right? That was the same night this story happened.

"It began right about when we were about to go to sleep. Just as Fluttershy wanted to turn off the lights, we all heard the chickens out in the coop frantic'ly cluckin'. Somethin' had really driven them to a panic. Of course we all ran down and helped Fluttershy calmin' them down, not even knowing what had happened. And we never found out.

"Believe me, catching them was quite some work. They were all over the place, scared to death. And when we finally thought we had them all, ma' friends and Ah' see some clawprints leadin' from the chicken coop right into the Everfree Forest. So, of course, we followed the trail."

"What do you mean, 'of course'? Couldn't you have just told Fluttershy?"

"Ah' s'pose we could have. But we thought it couldn't have gone far."

To Silver Spoon, any step into that forest was one step too far. But then again, she had witnessed and heard that Apple Bloom had demonstrated an impressive lack of caution and consideration which had led to all kinds of dangerous or at least problematic situations. And considering this unnecessary venture into a woodland full of potentially dangerous critters had already taken place, there was no point in arguing about sense and nonsense. She nodded to let Apple Bloom know she should go on, while Silver Spoon picked up Mr. Snuffles again.

"So, like Ah' said, we thought the chicken couldn't have gone far into the forest. But we were mistaken, and before we knew it, we had walked deeper into the woods than we had expected or wanted. Still, it was a warm night and the forest had been so quiet and peaceful, none of us had any doubts we should keep on searching. But then, after a while, we still hadn't found anything. Instead we were found by Fluttershy."

Silver Spoon couldn't hold herself back from commenting: "I guess she was pretty mad, huh?"

But Apple Bloom shook her head. "No, not at all. She was just glad she'd found us."

Of course. Why would somepony actually be mad at her for doing something really stupid? Again, she had to tell herself that there was no point bringing that up now.

"That was when she told us about the cockathingy. Even though Ah' should mention now that that isn't its real name. But Ah' just can't remember what it's really called. At first, we weren't scared. The way Fluttershy described it sounded way too silly. 'A creature with the head of a chicken and the body of a snake.' Who'd ever think somethin' like that could be scary?"

Silver Spoon knew for sure that she did. Actually, she couldn't see how somepony wouldn't.

"But before we could have gone anywhere, we saw the missin' chicken runnin' by, right behind Fluttershy. Unfortunately, so did the… monster. It was hidin' in the bushes, right where this unfortunate chicken was runnin' to. Like Ah' said, we weren't afraid in any way to meet this creature, but when it rose from that bush… Ya' can't imagine what it was like. It looked like it was growing right out of the ground, bigger and bigger. Ah' think it was even taller than ma' big brother. There it was, spreadin' its large, scaly wings, starin' at us with its horrifyin' red eyes. The next thing we knew it gazed at the chicken and it turned into stone on the spot."

Silver Spoon was already clutching to her stuffed bunny. Now, she pressed it even harder to her heart. Hadn't Apple Bloom said she was not going to tell a scary story? And how in the world was she able to sit here, only a few yards away from the very place this monster was roaming. Besides, the silver maned filly could have sworn those trees had moved closer to them in the past few minutes.

"Needless to say, we were scared to death. Ah' can tell ya' Ah'd already lost ma' head, runnin' away from that thing. That's when Ah' heard Flutterhsy callin', or rather, orderin' us to get behind her. None of us had any mind to disagree with that. And as soon as we had done as she had told us to, she turned around and took on the cockathingy.

"She told it off like Ah' hadn't seen it before while she stared it into the ground. Honestly, Ah've no idea anymore what she said, but that thing crumbled under her words. In the end it was wimperin' around and returned the chicken to normal. Then it ran off into the forest, wailin' like a little foal. All in all Ah' think we can feel lucky we made it out of there unharmed. But on the other hoof, as we found out, that thing had turned Twilight into stone earlier."

"Who?" Silver Spoon whispered. She didn't dare to speak any louder in fear of attracting something unwanted from the forest.

"Twilight Sparkle. Ya' know her, the librarian we met with the class a few month ago. She told us later she got ambushed when she was on her way to see Zecora." When Silver Spoon was about to ask again who that was, she continued: "The zebra living in the Everfree Forest everypony was so afraid of not so long ago. Turned out she actually is really nice and knows a lot about potions and herbs and such things."

Silver Spoon wasn't sure if living in the Everfree was a sign of bravery or stupidity, but that wasn't at all what she wanted to talk about now. Another matter pressed on her mind: "And when you found that Twilight, what happened then?"

"Not much. We went back to the cottage and finally got some sleep. Even Twilight stayed over. In the mornin', Rarity came over to walk me and ma' friends home."

"Really, that is all?"

Apple Bloom looked confused. "Yeah, nothin' else happened that night. Wasn't that enough for ya'?"

"That's not what I mean. How in the world were you able to just go to sleep like that? How are you able to camp so close to this forest? If it had been me, I would have run home as fast as I can and locked myself in my room for at least a weak. And I would have left the lights on the whole time."

"If Ah'd been on my own Ah' guess Ah'd done that, too. But with ma' friends there, and especially Fluttershy Ah' felt quite safe. If Ah'd been at home, Ah' had Applejack and Big Mac lookin' after me and there's no monster in Equestria that they'd let get me. And about the forest, it's not that bad. I've been there a few times and as long as you don't walk into the darker parts past sunset, there's nothing to fear."

"But don't you ever fear that some of those creatures from those darker parts might enter the town?" Silver Spoon shivered at her own words.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "No, not really. Not as long as we keep Snips and Snails in check."

Silver Spoon looked at her for a moment, than she bursted into laughter. The memory in itself wasn't actually that funny. For all the stupid ideas those two have had, bringing that giant bear into town was by far the dumbest. But even if remembering that frightful night when something that looked like a large piece of night-sky that had come to life had been wrecking havoc across town wasn't in any way a reason to laugh, the way Apple Bloom was able to say those words with a straight face and a dead serious tone was too much for Silver Spoon.

Through the tears in her eyes she could see Apple Bloom's smiling face. She wasn't sure if that filly was bemused by her exaggerated reaction or if this was exactly what she had been hoping for. But nonetheless it had helped Silver Spoon to lighten up again.

"Okay, we should keep an eye on them in school," she agreed still giggling. "I guess it's my turn, then. But I have to warn you, my stories won't be nearly as exciting as yours."

"Don't worry, they don't have to be."

"Okay then, is there anything in particular you'd like to hear about?"

"Well… A lot of things, but there's one that I would like to hear more than anything else…"

"How I got my cutie mark?" Silver Spoon cut right to the point.

Apple Bloom, looking flustered, answered: "Yes, but Ah' don't want ya' to think that's the sole reason Ah' invited ya' here, so…"

"Don't worry, I was kind of expecting this. Just because my grades aren't as good as yours doesn't mean I'm stupid, you know?"

The only reaction she got from this was a shade of crimson spreading across Apple Bloom's face, clearly visible even against the yellow-red flickering of their campfire.

"Don't worry," she giggled. "I've expected you to ask me way sooner. I guess you were to busy listening to my complaints. But before I tell you this story there is something I'd like to ask you, if it's okay?"

Apple Bloom nodded, still looking flustered. "It's been okay all evening and Ah' think Ah' can answer one more question before hearin' ya' story."

"Okay, it's about your brother and sister. You mentioned them again, like you always do. But whenever you're talking about what they would or wouldn't do, it always sounds to me like you're talking about stuff that should be parent's business anyway. It's almost like you don't-"

_Click_.

She instantly cursed herself. Hadn't she claimed to not being stupid just a second ago? It had taken her way too long to make this leap of logic. But now that they were talking about her cutie mark, the final piece of thought fell into place and completed this puzzle. She did know that nopony, except for the princesses maybe, lived forever. How in the world could she have ignored that this was true for parents as well for so long?

Shocked at her own insensibility she stared at Apple Bloom, her mouth still half open. She could already feel the emotional rollercoaster she had been riding the whole evening getting ready to take another dive. Close to a panic and struggling for words she silently prayed for a chance to unsay her last words.

But then Apple Bloom spoke what Silver Spoon was trying to avoid: "It's like Ah' don't have parents?"

Her voice was calm, yet still stricken with a hint of sadness. It was enough to twist Silver Spoon's guts.

"Ah' thought everypony knew that…"

They both fell silent. The grey little filly felt helpless, still unsure of what to say. Over the crackles of the fire the hooting of an owl was carried over from somewhere. It sounded like it was calling her out on her ignorance.

After a moment of eternity, Silver Spoon simply muttered: "I'm sorry, I really didn't know."

"No, ya' don't have to be sorry," said Apple Bloom. "It's not yer fault if ya' didn't know."

"But I should have known. I should have figured that out a long time ago."

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Again, don't worry about that. Ah' don't blame ya'. Just forget about it and start yer story. Maybe that'll distract ya from it."

Still with faint sadness in her eyes, the red maned filly smiled encouragingly. But still that didn't help Silver Spoon. "About that story, I don't know if it would be so good to tell right now. You see, my cutie mark is… Well… Now that I know of your parents and all…"

"Huh? What does a spoon have to do with ma' parents not being here anymore?"

Silver Spoon's stomach felt like it turned upside down. "You see, it is not a spoon…"

"Then what is it?"

"Well, um… You really don't recognize it? Does everypony think this is a spoon?" She looked at her own flank.

"Yeah. What else should it be? It looks like one. And yer name is Silver _Spoon_, so it only seemed fitting."

At first she wanted to protest this way of logic. Then again, many parents seemed to have a strange knack for naming their foals astonishingly matching to their future cutie marks. She could see how a lot of ponies would come to this false conclusion about her cutie mark in that regard. But it didn't help her solving this matter any better.

"Okay, so it might look like a spoon, but it is something else. Something completely different. And I don't-"

"Come on, stop beatin' around the bush and just tell me how ya' got it, then Ah'll know what it is too."

Silver Spoon could clearly hear how Apple Bloom tried to hide some upwelling annoyance. She sighed: "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

In a last attempt to prolong the now inevitable, she took an exaggeratedly long sip of the lemonade and then asked: "Before I begin, do you want one of the candy apples?"

"Yeah, thanks." Apple Bloom nodded, smiling again.

After she had handed the bag with the promised sweets over to Apple Bloom, she finally began her story:

"You may remember that it happened during the summer vacation after our first year at school. Of course, we – that is my family and me – spent the time at our summer house. Like every year. And ever since I've been able to walk, my sister and I were taking tours to the nearby village. She was supposed to look after me, but in the end, she just met with friends she had there and would leave me to do what I wanted to. My parents still would get mad if they ever found out, but why should we have told them? Otherwise I would have had to stay with my sister. This would have meant I wouldn't have gotten ignored just by her, but by her friends too, for a change.

"But so I was free to explore the village on my own. It was really small, Ponyville is almost a big city compared to it. Before long, I knew the place in and out.

"I even made some friends there. As far as you can call them friends if you only see them for three weeks a year. At best. But nonetheless, I like spending time with them. They did always admire me for my family's wealth. Our house near the beach was well known to all of them and they always told me how much they would like to live in that house. Now that I think of it, maybe that's why I expected it to be the same in school.

"To be honest, back in Fohlengarten I was extremely shy. Sure, the others let me play with them and I did have fun times, but I had never been able to make any real friends. I mean like friendships that lasted longer than until their parents came in the afternoon and took them back home.

"Anyways, one of the fillies I used to play with had a grandfather. I mean, most of the others had grandfathers too, but this particular one had a job that I found interesting from the very first moment I saw it. He was a silversmith. He made all kind of things out of silver. Necklets, rings and other jewellery. Goblets, plates, forks, knives, and yes, also spoons. Sometimes, ponies would ask him for some decorations for their front gates. He even showed me some picture frames he had made. That was some kind of tradition he had with his wife, he told me. Every year he would make another special picture frame and on their wedding day, they would have their picture taken and place it in that frame.

"In their living room, there was a whole shelf only for those pictures. It was an amazing sight, seeing them being together on all of them. Of course, they looked a little bit older on each new one, but you know what? Their smiles never changed on any of those. They looked just as happy on the last one as on the first one.

"But there was one other thing he made. I'll never forget how he described it; a sign to the ones dear to you who had to move on to another place. A place from where no letter will reach you and no train ever stops to bring them back. But from where they can see and hear you. They know when you think about them, when you remember them, and when you miss them. But you can't do that all the time, if you want to live your life. Sooner or later, you'll need to let the thought of those who won't come back go from your mind. That's why ponies put up a 'monimentum', to let those who went away know that you still miss them. They let your dear ones know you want to see them again. They ask them to wait for you until it is your time make that last journey towards their new home.

"Back then I didn't fully understand what he meant, but I made the mistake of asking my sister. She was rather blunt about it. All in all I guess that wasn't all for the worst, but I think I would have liked to believe in the story the old stallion had told me. But on the other hoof, that story still is nice and I just prefer to think that that is the way it really is.

"However, I spent a lot of time during those few days at his workshop and just watched him forming silver and gems into all those beautiful works of art. And best of all, he even let me try to make some on my own with simple tools. Even though what I was able to produce wasn't that impressive, he said I had 'a knack for crafting' and he would let me try out more complicated stuff. To be honest, all that only led to me producing bigger things that weren't that impressive. But still, it was fun making them and he'd keep complimenting me on how I was even able to use some tools even other grown-ups had trouble with. Apart from meeting my vacation-friends, working in his workshop was the one thing I looked forward to the most each summer.

"But then came our first summer vacation in school. The first thing I did, like the years before, was running up to the shop as soon as I had the chance. But this time it was closed. That had never happened before. I tried to peek inside, there was nopony there. All the tools were at their usual spots and I could see an unfinished piece of work. But the old stallion was nowhere to be seen.

"When I rang the bell, it wasn't him who opened but a mare I had only seen on some other pictures he had shown to me before. I knew she was his daughter, even though I had never met her in real before. At first she wanted to send me away, saying it wasn't a good time. But then I heard him inside, asking who was at the door. As soon as he knew I was there he told her to let me inside.

"I had never seen a pony so downcast, the way he could barely sit upright in his rocking chair. He forced himself to smile at me but couldn't hide that something terrible must have happened to him. And all of his family was there, sitting on the sofa and the chairs, looking the same as him. All of them, except one. His wife wasn't there.

"Of course I was confused by this scenery. My confusion must have been obvious, because the daughter's husband asked if it was really a good idea letting me in. But Raising Hammer, that's the old stallion's name by the way, said I was like a grandchild for him and he wanted his family around him. Honestly, looking back, it's really embarrassing how happy I was in a moment like that at what he said. But it didn't really matter because my happiness only lasted until what he said next.

"He told me that his wife had gone on a long journey, to a place from where she couldn't come back from. Since the first time we met we hadn't talked about this topic again. But I saw in his eyes that he knew immediately that I knew what he meant.

All I could do back then was to walk up to him and hug him. I felt strange at that moment. All I wanted was to cheer him up, comfort him, just help in any way possible. But it made him cry instead. Not just him, I clearly heard everypony else there start sniffing, too. It made me wonder if I had done something wrong, but at the same time, he patted me on the back and thanked me.

"I can't tell how long that moment lasted, but the next thing was that his daughter brought in some tea. They told each other stories about his wife, happy memories they had of her. He seemed to like remembering her like that, smiling all the way. But the sadness in his eyes still wouldn't go away. While the others were talking, I kept thinking about what I could do for him, since of course I didn't really have any bigger memories of his wife than some simple chats or the delicious cookies and juice she had given me from time to time. Then I saw the shelf with their wedding day pictures. And somehow that gave me an idea.

"I sneaked out of the room, nopony noticing me while they were distracted by themselves. I went down and entered the workshop. Luckily, there was a door from his place directly to the workshop which wasn't locked. I gathered everything I needed and started to work on the first monimentum I ever made. I tried to work in as many details from the picture frames he had made as I could remember. Parts from the oldest came at the bottom of the pole, then I worked upwards, going through the frames in the order as he had made them. And into the top I set a heart shaped ruby he must have had prepared for something else.

"It had taken quite a while until I was done. I heard them calling my name when I got back into the house. With the monimentum in my mouth I went back to the living room. At first I was afraid they would get angry at me, because everypony just sat there in silence, looking disbelievingly at me. But what I cared more about was if Raising Hammer would like what I had done.

"When I walked over to him his eyes grew wider and wider. He took my work into his lap and examined it with growing surprise. Finally he really smiled, not just on his face, but in his heart. I could see that. But not just that, what he said next, I'll never forget: 'This is beautiful, I couldn't have done it any better. No wonder your cutie mark would turn out to look like this.' And that's when I realized that I had finally earned the very same."


	9. Chapter 9

A Silver Summer

**Chapter 9**

"So that's what it's supposed to be?" Apple Bloom said looking at Silver Spoon's cutie mark. "But Ah' never saw a monimentum with that bulky thing at the bottom."

"Oh, that's simple," answered Silver Spoon. "The lower end is put into the ground so the whole thing won't fall over. It's not meant to be seen." She covered the lowest part of her cutie mark with a hoof and turned herself a little so it was illuminated by the fire.

"Yeah, it is rather obvious once yer know what it really is. But the one set up for ma' parents has an apple inserted instead of a heart."

"The heart is what is usually set in as a general sign of your love. Raising Hammer called it 'the traditional way'. But many ponies decide to replace it with something more personal like the cutie mark of the one you want to remember or a symbol representing the family. I guess an apple would be more than fitting for your parents."

When Silver Spoon looked back at Apple Bloom again, she was sure she could see a wet glistening in Apple Bloom's eyes. But in the unsteady light of a camp fire it was hard to tell. Anyway, the filly in front of her still kept her smile.

"What happened next?"

Apple Bloom's question took Silver Spoon by surprise.

"Next?"

"After ya' had yer cutie mark. Ah'm sure ya' didn't just leave and went home, did ya?"

"Oh, that's what you mean. Well, in some way, I did. Not immediately, but after I had spent the afternoon with him and his family, I had to go home. But I did see them all a lot over the next days. The monimentum must have really been the right thing to make. After that, they all had accepted me as a part of their family. They let me join the funeral and even let me help decorating the grave."

"Ya' decorated the grave?" asked Apple Bloom surprised. "Ya' mean ya' of all ponies planted flowers? With yer own hooves?"

"Yeah, I did. Why do you ask?"

Apple Bloom chuckled. "Oh, Ah' don't know. Ah' somehow had the feelin' ya'd hire a gardener for somethin' like that."

Silver Spoon didn't feel like laughing at all. She shook her head and said: "I would never do that. Not for something like this. That wasn't some front lawn. Would you let some stranger decorate the grave for somepony important to you?"

"Of course Ah' would. Isn't that what that family did when they let you help them? Ah' mean, most of them only knew ya' for a few days."

Silver Spoon stared baffled at Apple Bloom. "I never saw it that way…"

"And Ah'm sure that ma' parents grave was decorated by somepony not from ma' family. Most of them aren't that good with flowers."

"Oh, it isn't that hard to do. All I did back then I did more on instinct than anything else. And everypony liked it. They even told me a few days after the funeral that somepony had asked them who was in charge of the grave, because it looked so neat."

The red maned filly stared disbelievingly at Silver Spoon for an uncomfortably long moment.

"Yer jokin' now, right?"

Another moment passed as Silver Spoon returned the look she was receiving.

"No, it really was that easy. All you have to do is-"

"Of course it's easy when it's yer special talent."

These words silenced Silver Spoon not just because she got interrupted by them. It took her a few seconds to get her thoughts in order and ask: "My special talent? But wouldn't that mean I have two special talents?"

"Ah' wouldn't say so. If there's anythin' Ah' learned about cutie marks so far, it's that they can stand for many skills. Take Pinkie Pie for example. Ya' know her, right?"

"Yeah, of course. She threw Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera. And somehow she congratulates me on every birthday, even though I don't think I ever told her when it was."

"Good. As far as she puts it, her special talent is to make others smile, to make them happy. And she can do it in many ways. Organizin' parties, sing songs or even bakin' cakes for them. She's fantastic with all of that. And maybe even more."

"So, you really think my talent is more than crafting monimentums? I never thought of me planting some flowers as something special, much less being related to my cutie mark."

"Ah'd say so. It sounds to me like yer talent is decoratin' graves in general or somethin' like that. Haven't ya' ever tried it again?"

"No, once the vacation was over I never had the chance to. Or looked for one."

Apple Bloom gave her a look of resignation. "So, ya' wanna tell me that ya' never, not even once, wanted to try out yer talent again since then?"

Silver spoon felt her face getting hot. That was pretty much the case. As in, exactly how it was. She looked down once again and mumbled: "Well, it's not so easy to walk up to somepony and ask if they had somepony recently pass away and if you could decorate the grave."

For a few moments, there was only the crackles of the camp fire. But then Apple Bloom said apologetically: "Well, okay, Ah' see how that would be a problem…"

This gave Silver Spoon a chance she had to take. "But anyway, enough about me learning things about cutie marks. Didn't you want to hear the story to learn something yourself?"

Much to her relief, Apple Bloom went along with this attempt to change the topic. "Well, yes, of course. But Ah' don't really think it helped. That's not yer fault, but it always sounds to me like everypony Ah' ask got her cutie mark by pure chance. But then they all keep tellin' me Ah' should find out what Ah'm really good at."

"I'm not telling you that."

"Yeah, sorry, ya' didn't. But everypony else does. Do ya' have any idea what ya' did except being at the, well, 'right' place at the 'right' time? Maybe ya' can explain to me what Cheerilee meant whenever she was talkin' about 'findin' one's true talent'."

"Sorry, no, I have no clue. To be honest, since I already had mine, I never really listened to what she said during those lessons." In fact, she didn't listen to what her teacher had to say most of the time for a variety of reasons. "And I never really cared about how it worked." Obviously that answer wasn't what Apple Bloom had hoped for at all. "Again, I'm sorry I'm not of any help here. The only thing I can say is that maybe you should try not caring about it."

"Easy for ya' to say…" Apple Bloom mumbled.

"Oh, come on." For a change it was Silver Spoon who tried an encouraging smile. "I know how important this is for you. And if I could, I would help you in any way possible. But the only thing I can say from my way of getting a cutie mark and any other I heard about, is that nopony ever expected to get it when it happened. So, maybe not caring really is the best way. Just try it. At least for tonight, so we can go back to having fun."

Apple Bloom nodded slowly. It took a few moments of contemplating for her but finally she agreed with Silver Spoon. Soon her smile returned and they were back to telling stories while working themselves through the snacks Silver Spoon had stocked in the afternoon.

It was mostly Apple Bloom who did the story telling, since Silver Spoon couldn't think of anything to tell that was even remotely as exciting as what that yellow filly had to offer. More than once she asked herself how her newfound friend had been able to make it through the last year without any major injury.

Even more so, she was impressed how freely everything that had happened was spread out to her. She heard about attempts of earning a cutie mark that ended in disaster after disaster. Most were minor incidents, like ruining somepony's mane as a wannabe manedresser or the failed attempt at selling apples Silver Spoon had already heard about. But there were hair-raising instants like any kind of 'extreme sports', how Apple Bloom called it, that ended surprisingly often in the trio falling down from somewhere. Or the one time the red maned filly had already hinted at, when she had almost set her own home on fire.

The longer she listened the more Silver Spoon found herself enjoying the stories she heard. Her initial doubts and bewilderment were gradually swept away by the joy and excitement they were told with. After another tale of Apple Bloom and her friends wrecking havoc at the post office, Silver Spoon asked chuckling: "Have you ever thought about getting a chaos raising cutie mark?"

Apple Bloom looked surprised for a brief moment, then thoughtfully scratched her chin. "Why haven't Ah' thought of that?"

"Uh, that was meant to be a joke, you know?"

"Don't worry, of course Ah' know that." Apple Bloom grinned.

"Either way, I'm getting tired," said Silver Spoon rubbing her eyes. "I think I've never been up this long before. Maybe we should get into the sleeping bags."

The yellow filly yawned in response and nodded. They put out the fire and then crawled into the tent. Now that she had to move again Silver Spoon felt how tired she really was. She had to force each of her limbs to move forward while her mind kept suggesting that she could just lie down in the grass and sleep right where she was. But in the end she had somehow managed to end up in her sleeping bag, ready to doze off.

Next to her, she heard Apple Bloom's muffled voice saying: "Good night".

She turned her head and saw two half-closed amber eyes peeking out of the sleeping bag next to her, glimmering in the dim glow of a small nightlight.

"It was so far, thanks to you," she replied with a smile. "I'm almost afraid I'll wake up tomorrow in my bed to find out that this was all a dream."

Then she huddled herself in the sleeping back and closed her eyes. But as it happened so often, when she was finally ready to fall asleep her mind kicked back into action and decided it was the perfect time to make her think about what had occurred over the day. How she had set out this morning to just walk around town to kill some time, leading to her really spending a whole evening chatting with the filly she had considered her arch-enemy. Even to sharing sweets with her.

But how had all this really started? That short exchange of words during their first day of summer school. It seemed so far away, despite that it had happened not even a week ago. Especially considering that it had been more of an argument than any kind of casual conversation.

But what had it been that turned everything from the usual bickering to a serious talk? Right, there had been the topic of her taking school seriously. Just because she had so thoughtlessly proclaimed that summer school were some 'important appointment'. Of course, she couldn't have known Apple Bloom would show up at school later when they ran into each other that morning.

That morning… When they ran into each other… She had almost forgotten about it. Apple Bloom had been sad, to put it mildly. And as she knew by now it hadn't been because of a fight between her and her friends. And neither had summer school been the reason. Then, what had it been?

She decided to ask her the next morning as soon as a chance would come up. With that thought Silver Spoon closed her eyes and tried to let herself fall into the comforting arms of sleep.

Unfortunately, her mind wasn't satisfied with this solution. It kept on nagging her, pushing the question back into her conscious mind and denied her any chance of rest.

Annoyed with herself she opened her eyes again and asked: "Apple Bloom? Are you still awake?"

A muffled sound was all she got as a response. It was hard to make out if it was a groan, some words suffocated by the sleeping back or just a long yawn.

"I don't know if you want to talk about this, but there is one last thing I'd like to ask you."

She waited for another reaction but this time, she heard nothing. She thought there had been some kind of movement inside the sleeping back. Most likely Apple Bloom had just shifted her body but Silver Spoon decided to interpret it as a nod.

"That morning, the first day of summer school, when we ran into each other… I can remember that you looked somehow… downcast. Would you mind telling me what had been the reason for that?"

A few moments of silence passed. Silver Spoon already feared she had indeed been talking to a sleeping filly. But then the red mane turned and Apple Bloom's face re-emerged from the sleeping bag. She half-said, half-yawned: "Why ya' wanna know that? And why now?"

"I don't know. It just bugs me. The way you looked. That was so… not you. Usually you're so energetic and happy. Even when you're actually upset, as far as I remember, you'd still remain somewhat composed. But that day you seemed really down. And I keep asking myself why."

A stretched-out yawn later Apple Bloom replied: "Well, Ah' see no reason why Ah' shouldn't tell ya' this. On that mornin' Ah' asked Applejack if we could go on a vacation for once. All of ma' friends are goin' every year and all we ever did was some occasional campin' over the weekend."

She got interrupted by herself when another yawn forced itself into freedom. Silver Spoon used this chance to ask: "But everypony goes on vacation. Isn't that a normal thing to do?"

The red mane shifted around in the sleeping bag. Maybe Apple Bloom had tried to shake her head while lying down or had just tried to get herself into a more comfortable position for talking. "Not everypony does. Not everypony has the money for it."

"Oh, I see…"

"Ma' sister said it's because of all the work that needs to be done on the farm. It's okay to delay it for one or two, maybe three days, but not a week or so."

"Can't you hire someone to do the work for you?"

"That's what Ah' asked ma' sister. And apparently we don't have the money for that. Not if we need to pay for a vacation at the same time."

"You really want to go on a vacation that much?"

Silver Spoon knew this question was stupid. She could still clearly see how Apple Bloom's face had looked on that day. How depressed she had been. Not angry or frustrated, she had been almost heartbroken as far as Silver Spoon had been able to read her expression. She knew what the answer would be, but she had no idea what else she could say at this point.

"Of course Ah' do. Those campin'-trips were really fun, but Ah' want to know what a real vacation is like. Ah' don't even care where we would go to. The beach, the mountains or a big city, anythin' would be fine."

The beach? Now that gave Silver Spoon an idea what she could do. She smiled to herself and asked: "Say, why don't you go with the first choice?"

"Huh? What first choice? The beach?"

"Yes, the beach. Why don't you go to the beach?"

"Weren't ya' listenin'? I just told ya'-"

"That you don't have the money, yeah, I know. But what about a trip to the beach you don't have to pay for?"

Now Apple Bloom sat up, a puzzled look on her face. "What do ya' mean?"

"I mean that you now have a friend whose parents own a villa at the beach which is only used for a few weeks a year. I'm sure they would let you and your family stay there for some time if I ask them."

Any sign of tiredness had vanished from Apple Bloom. "Ya' really think they'd allow it?" Her voice was vibrating with hopeful excitement.

"Of course, I always get what I ask them for." That wasn't exactly true, but Silver Spoon decided it was true enough to not be a lie.

Apple Bloom lay back down with a dreamy smile on her face. As Silver Spoon watched the presentation of pure happiness in front of her, she felt a warm feeling spreading inside her chest. It was similar to what she felt when she got hugged by Apple Bloom or Cheerilie. Except that this warmth felt somehow happier. To her astonishment, seeing her new friend this joyful actually made her happy.

She wondered if she had ever experienced anything similar when she had been in the company of Diamond Tiara. She wanted to tell herself that she did. But she had to admit, as much fun they always had together and as joyful the days they had spent together had been, she had never seen such an expression of deep blissfulness before. She would have never even thought that fulfilling somepony else's wish could make her feel this happy herself. But how could she have fulfilled Diamond Tiara's wishes in the first place? She had everything she wanted, there was nothing Silver Spoon could give her.

Or maybe, there _had been_ nothing.

The more this realization set in, another thought revealed itself in its wake. Was this the reason why Apple Bloom was doing this for her? Simply because she enjoyed helping her? Now that she thought about it, this might have been more or less what she had tried to tell Silver Spoon.

Asking herself why it had taken her so long to find this insight, she set her mind to put it to good use. As soon as Diamond Tiara would be back, she'd introduce her to Apple Bloom. The Apple Bloom she knew now. When her friend would be back from her vacation, Silver Spoon would make it her personal responsibility to show her that all the problems they had fitting in with the foals around them came from themselves and not the others. And in the end, Diamond Tiara's face would look as happy as Apple Bloom's was right now.

"That was really mean of you."

Her new friend's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. At first she wasn't aware if the filly next to her had really spoken. She had started to drift off to sleep as she was thinking about future plans. Now those surprisingly cheery sounding words had yanked her awake again. She looked over to the yellow filly for confirmation that she had really talked to her. Apple bloom looked back with a wide grin.

"How am Ah' supposed to sleep after ya' tell me somethin' excitin' like this?"

That question was left unanswered as Silver Spoon once again sank back into her sleeping and was asleep within seconds.

And Apple Bloom must have also been able to fall asleep eventually. At least her "Good mornin'!" that penetrated the veils of slumber surrounding Silver Spoon didn't carry even the slightest bit of sleepiness. It was outrageous to her that anypony could be this energetic this early in the morning.

But how early was it actually?

Still savoring the last threads of sleep entangling her mind, the grey filly forced her eyes open. And immediately shut them again, as bright sunlight blinded her right through the white tarp. She had to blink a few times until she was able to get a clear vision. When she had finally put her glasses on, she saw Apple Bloom sitting right next to her, rolling up her sleeping bag.

"What time is it?" Silver Spoon yawned at her.

"Almost ten."

"Really? As tired as I still am, I'd have said it isn't past six." She wasn't even exaggerating. Her head was still clouded and told her to go back to sleep.

"Ma' sister always says sleepin' too long makes ya' tired. Maybe ya' should take a shower, that always wakes me up."

Silver Spoon tried to move, but as soon as she tried to lift her body her back started to ache. It was more startling than painful, but she sank back onto the sleeping bag and stared at the brightness above her for a moment.

"Is it normal to feel this beat after a night of camping?" she asked Apple Bloom with another yawn.

Apple Bloom chuckled. "Only if yer not used to it. Believe me, just get up and take a shower. Ah' already have and Ah' can tell ya, it's the best ya' can do right now. Ah'll pack our stuff up while yer inside."

"Okay, that's an acceptable offer."

Silver Spoon forced herself to get up. The moment she stepped outside her body finally awoke. The late morning sun was warm, yet still far from burning like it would surely be once noon arrived.

After stretching her limbs she slowly walked over to the house, taking in her surroundings. It was hard to believe this was the same place as yesterday evening. Now it was once more a playground for all the animals she had seen before. But unlike the last time, she was right in the middle of it all. And those critters were far from shy.

They ran around her and between her hooves. One squirrel, looking for a safe place to munch the acorn it was carrying, even attempted to climb up her tail. The filly was so startled she reflexively shook the brushy little rodent off before she even knew what had happened.

To Silver Spoon's relief the animal wasn't hurt. But it made some indignant noises she had never heard before and even shook one of its tiny fists at her. Then it realized some other squirrel had taken its chance and snatched the abandoned acorn. The next second both of them were gone, one chasing the other through the grass.

Amused over this little spectacle she entered Fluttershy's home. The living room was empty, but from the kitchen came the promising sizzling of breakfast in the making, accompanied by the sweet smell of warm pancakes. Even if she hadn't wanted to go the kitchen, her nose had already decided to do so and naturally, the rest of her body had to comply. Following the tempting trail of sweetness in the air, she found Fluttershy diligently watching over a frying pan while happily humming a little melody.

"Good morning," said the little filly to make her presence known.

"Oh, good morning, dear," answered the yellow pegasus, smiling at her guest. "You look like you slept really well last night."

"Well, yeah, kind of. At least if it wasn't for my back. It still hurts from lying on the ground all night. Apple Bloom suggested I should take a shower. Would that be okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

She showed Silver Spoon to the bathroom, gave her a towel and told her that breakfast would be ready soon.

The bath was rather small compared to what the filly was used to from her home. Oddly enough to her, the walls were made of wood. Which was to be expected from a house completely made of wood, but Silver Spoon had never seen something like this before. There were no marbled tiles, no gilded taps, not even a bathtub. But there was a cabin containing the desired shower, which was all she needed right now.

The hot water was indeed doing wonders for her. As fun as the evening had been for her, she had missed the comforts of civilization. And this shower was pure luxury to her after a night of sleeping on the ground. But nonetheless, the filly reflected, she would like to do all of it again some time. Maybe not sometime soon, but if Apple Bloom would ask her again, she wouldn't refuse.

And she wondered what Diamond Tiara would say if she asked her to go camping. Especially if it would involve Apple Bloom as well. And maybe even Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. How would her best friend even react if she heard what had happened yesterday? Or where Silver Spoon was right now? Would she even accept her new friendship with the very filly they both had despised for two years now? Even more, would Diamond Tiara want to be friends with Apple Bloom?

When Apple Bloom and she had talked about it the last night, Silver Spoon had said she surely would. And she had meant it. But now that she had the time to think about it, doubts were entering her mind. Her friend had always been strong willed. A trait she had always admired about her, even if it turned to stubbornness once in a while. But on the other hand, she had experienced firsthand by now how persistent, no, _convincing_ Apple Bloom could be. How she was able to just overthrow her with kindness and niceness. Even though Silver Spoon wasn't sure if the latter was actually a word, but she decided that in favor of Apple Bloom's personality, it should be.

Her thoughts went back and forth on this matter, until her stomach growlingly reminded her that she should stop wasting Fluttershy's warm water. It was time to get something to eat.

After she had toweled herself off and left the bathroom she went straight to the kitchen, expecting to be greeted again by the sweet scent of pancakes. But all that waited for her this time was the distinct biting smell of something that had been forgotten in the pan.

The kitchen was empty; there were neither Fluttershy nor Apple Bloom. The table was still set, the pile of done pancakes was still there, as was the frying pan on the still running stove. And in it was a black lump of… something. Most likely it had been supposed to be another pancake a few minutes ago, but now it was nothing but fowl smelling crust.

Silver Spoon stared helplessly at the kitchen utensil in front of her. She had never even tried to handle a stove. Or any other device that was meant to prepare food, for that matter. Where the hay was Fluttershy? Or Apple Bloom?

At least Silver Spoon had an idea where the latter could be. The helpless filly ran outside. She was right. Her new friend was still at the tent, just starting to strike it down. Silver Spoon kept running until she was by her side.

"Apple Bloom," she gasped. "Do you know where Fluttershy is?"

"Yeah, she's right over there," Apple Bloom answered irritated, pointing away from the house.

As Silver Spoon looked where she had indicated, her stomach twisted. "Is that a bear?"

"Yupp."

"Right next to Fluttershy?"

"Yupp."

"Why is Fluttershy standing right next to a huge, sharp-teethed bear that has claws as big as her head?"

"She's feeding it."

"Why?"

"Because it's hungry, Ah' guess."

Silver Spoon's next answer never crossed her lips. She choked as she saw the bear lifting one of its massive paws. But all it did then was waving good-bye as it turned around and trotted away. Fluttershy was waving a hoof too, a kind smile on her face. Then she noticed the two fillies watching her and walked over to them.

Silver Spoon still stared at her in awe. She looked like she had just shared a pleasant talk with an old friend. There was no sign in her behavior that she had stood face to face with a ferocious beast only seconds ago.

"It looks like you're almost done here. Do you want me to help with the last bit?" Fluttershy's voice was as soft and quiet as always.

"No, thanks Fluttershy," Apple Bloom replied, her voice as calm and casual as usual.

This was too much for Silver Spoon. "Um, Fluttershy? Why were you feeding that bear?"

"I didn't want him to be jealous."

This answer wasn't helping Silver Spoon at all. That sounded to the filly like that beast were a small foal she gave some ice-cream because everypony else had some too.

"Jealous? Of who?"

"Well, it started with those two squirrels I saw fighting over an acorn. I told them there was enough food for all of them and gave them another one. But then the other squirrels saw that and wanted something to eat too. And when I was done feeding them I noticed all my other friends wanted something to eat as well. Of course I don't want them to think that I would ever treat any one of them differently than the other, so they all had to get something as well. Including Mr. Bear."

Silver Spoon didn't know about what end of Fluttershy's words she should wonder first. She just stood there, her mouth hanging slightly open, staring into those large eyes filled with kindness. Helplessly she looked at Apple Bloom who still continued packing up their stuff as if this was just the usual for her. Finally, Silver Spoon decided to just put all of it aside and get to the reason why she came out there in the first place.

"But shouldn't you have turned the stove off before you did all that?"

At first Fluttershy looked puzzled. Then her eyes widened. With an embarrassed "Oh dear!" she ran back to her house from where thin wades of black smoke streamed out the door.

* * *

For a change, I'll a leave an author's note. So, here we go:

First of all, thank you all who have followed this story up until now.

Second, you'll unfortunately now have to wait a longer time for another update. Due to upcoming finals I won't be able to keep on writing. Expect me to be back sometime in January or February. I hope I can settle for about one chapter a month.

Third, I'd like to take this chance to shamelessly advertise my own work. If you haven't noticed, I have released a side-story to A Silver Summer. It's called A Night at the Golden Mug and I would be happy for any kind of feedback I'd get to that :).

And fourth, if anybody around here knows a pic that would work as a cover art for this story, or knows an artist who would draw one (or even is the artist), that would be awesome.

20


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